


True Crime Kills

by Kirabaros



Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: Crime Scenes, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:34:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 51,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27407410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirabaros/pseuds/Kirabaros
Summary: Four people are dead with three belonging to an exclusive club that looks at true crime and detective novels. There appears to be no connection between them while Sage Parker investigates along with Sara Sidle and Nick Stokes. Twists in novels become a reality as they work to uncover the suspect who just happens to like true crime.





	1. Chapter 1

_The Vegas skyline looked beautiful as the lightning crackled in the sky. It was like the postcards that were available to tourists at the gift shops. The casinos were lit up to make the night seem like day and the people were walking down the sidewalks heading to the shows, to gamble or clubbing; one of the many things that characterized Vegas._

_The old historic house looked like a sleepy old citizen nestled amongst the apartment complexes and sublets that dotted the neighborhood. The house supposedly existed since the days of old Vegas and still was given reverence especially to the owner._

_Mae Whittenbower, sixty-two and still spry looking, looked out the window of her house at the street before closing the curtain. She turned around to see her guests. She smiled, “Alright ladies, is everyone here?”_

_The group of six ladies of various ages ranging from twenty-six to their sixties held up their copy of the week’s selection. Mae held her copy as she sat in the arm chair reserved for the leader of the group. The other ladies opened their books to the chapter they were on. Mae looked at them and said, “Alright, now where did we leave off?”_

_“The evidence was being interpreted,” the youngest of the group said._

_“Ah yes. Does anyone have any idea who the suspects are?”_

_The outside of the house was quiet as people went about their evening routines. A couple of kids on their way home from a neighborhood basketball game. They were bragging about the shots they had gotten off when they passed by the house. They stopped when they heard noise. It was then the unmistakable sound of gunfire happened. The tallest of the boys dropped his ball on the ground as they looked at the house and there were sounds of screaming and yelling…_

The crime scene tape was effective at drawing a crowd as the uniforms worked to keep the people back. It was almost futile since people had video recorders out as well as cameras, trying to get a shot. The lights from the black and whites and the unmarked cars flashed lighting up the quiet street like it would on the Strip. The last vehicle to arrive was a Tahoe flashing its lights and it came to a rest next to a familiar Taurus.

Sage Parker got out of the driver’s side of the Tahoe and pulled out her kit and looked at the outside scene. She could make out a body covered on the ground outside on the walkway leading to the house and she noticed a woman screaming out a name and crying as she was being held by someone, probably a husband or boyfriend or elder son. She walked forward and passed roughly four hysterical ladies trying to talk to the uniforms.

“I see you drew the straw, Parker.”

Sage looked at Capt. Jim Brass and blinked slowly. “It was a busy night,” she offered as she looked around. “What’s the rundown?”

Brass looked at the body on the ground. “Three bodies inside. Book club night. They call themselves the Homicide Society. A group of ladies getting together and with the crime novel of the week, try to solve the crime. It seems that someone broke in and threatened the group. Killed three and left.”

“And the body here?” Sage motioned towards it.

“Kid was on his way home from a basketball game with his friends. Shooter comes out of the house and gets caught in the line of fire. Collateral damage.”

“To someone who thinks so little of life,” Sage replied looking at the scene. She went inside the house and was immediately greeted by the historic look and feel of the house. She bypassed the officers doing their work to head towards the bodies inside where David was. “Hey David.”

“Hey Parker,” David replied as he looked up while writing down what he needed. “It’s a shame.”

“Always is,” Sage replied as she looked around. The room was a parlor and the chairs and sofa was arranged like a circle. She looked at the ground where a book had fallen and kneeled to take a look.

“Well seems like the neighborhood is in an outrage.”

“Yeah well they learned a horrible lesson, Jim,” Sage replied.

“And what’s that?” Brass looked at Sage as she looked around the room from her kneeled position.

“True crime kills.”

**CSI: True Crime Kills**

The lens of the camera snapped as Sara Sidle took pictures of the bodies in the room for reference regarding the blood spatters. The spatter was indicative of a firearm being discharged and it was contained to the one room. Not wanting to be nailed on missing something, Sara snapped everything and took multiples at different angles, particularly the bodies and the nearby furniture.

Sage in the meantime was looking over the bodies. She glanced at David, “You got a time of death?”

“Liver temp puts it roughly at 8pm,” David said.

“Consistent with the eyewitness accounts both outside and in,” Sage replied as she looked at the oldest of the bodies. “This is the owner of the house right?”

“Rita Mae Whittenbower,” David confirmed. He looked at the body and noticed something. “I got something for you Parker.”

Sage leaned over and looked at what David was pointing at. She could see the true crime novel on the ground but it had something unique. She looked closer and could make out a bullet hole. “Hey Sara, did you get a reference photo of this one?”

“First thing Parker,” Sara replied with a knowing smile. “I’m on the case.”

“Sure you are,” Sage replied with a knowing smile of her own. “Looks like we might have a good one for Bobby.” She picked up the book and looked at it. She looked at the title, “Murder on Ravenhearst.”

“That’s a pretty good one. A period novel based on a multiple homicide at some farm in Kentucky,” David said. At the look Sage gave him, he explained, “I like period novels. The history aspect of it.”

“I like them too but I grew up on Agatha Christie,” Sage replied as she bagged the book. She wanted to extract it carefully at the lab. “The Orient Express was my favorite. Still is.”

“So you were playing detective before you became a CSI,” Sara replied as she took a picture of a bookcase. The books had been organized by what looked like the true crime serials she liked to read herself.

“It’s what got me into crime scene investigation,” Sage replied as she put her bagged evidence aside. She continued to look at the body of Ms. Whittenbower and noted what appeared to be skin discolorations on the face.

The witnesses said that the assailant hit the victims. With what was a bit sketchy. Some said a fist and others said with the gun. Sage knew that Sara took reference photos but she wanted close ups of these. It was hard to tell but there seemed to be a unique pattern on the discolorations. She reached for her camera and took a few pictures. They would know more after Doc Robbins did his thing in autopsy.

Moving down, Sage noticed a couple of fibers or hairs in the woman’s hand. Studying it, Sage got the mental image of the woman wrestling with her assailant. It was possible that she had ripped out a few hairs in the process. If that was the case, they may have something in CODIS. If not, they still had a sample they could use for comparison when they got the suspects. Using her tweezers, Sage removed the hairs from the woman’s hand and held it up. “I got hair and looks like we got tags.”

Sara looked at Sage, “So you’re thinking that they struggled with the assailant.”

“Probably it’s what got em killed,” Sage replied as she looked back at Sara. She put the hair in a bindle and labeled it. She moved on to the other bodies in the room and noted that they all had hairs. So maybe there was a possibility that they jumped on the assailant before they were wrestled off and then shot. She looked at David, “Okay you can remove the women. I’ll be outside with the fourth.”

“Hey, keep your head on Parker. I’d hate for Grissom to take you out this early,” Sara said in a gentle voice. She was actually glad to be working a case with Sage in the lead and she wanted to see how Sage would handle this since previously she worked under the primary.

Sage looked at Sara, “Oh I have my head on Sara. Just keep at it in here.” She paused and looked at the room one last time. “I don’t know why but something about this scene… It’s like I know it from somewhere.”

“Déjà vu from a previous case?”

“Don’t know yet. Just a feeling… and don’t tell Grissom I said that.” Sage gave a teasing smile in Sara’s direction before she turned around to inspect the body that was outside the house. This was going to be a long night.

Kneeling next to the kid Sage took a moment to look at him. She said the words hundreds of time and it was true every time. It sucked when the crime happened to the kid. She noted the clothes, the relative condition of the body and noted that the kid was well groomed, probably a good home life despite what the condition of the neighborhood conveyed.

“His name is Gerald Butler, aged 14,” Brass said as he stood by Sage. “Kid was on his way home with his friends after their basketball game. Heard the first few shots and stopped.”

“Collateral damage,” Sage replied after nodding. She continued to look at the kid. It was a damn shame when it came to kids. She frowned a bit as she started taking pictures for reference. “Looks like it might be the same caliber as our three ladies inside except it looks like he was hit while he was running away.”

“So you thinking the kid saw who it was along with the team here and tried to hightail it out but was hit,” Brass summed up as he looked down at the kneeling CSI who was staring intently at the scene. “Does sound like collateral damage.”

“Thing was if it were that, the killer would have shot at the rest of the groupies there,” Sage replied as she motioned with her hand. She pointed at the body, “This was deliberate. The thing is there seems to be no apparent connection unless…”

Sage studied the body and mentally ran through with what they found in the house. She could see that faceless assailant hitting the victims, probably threatened them with the gun by holding it onto them. They fought back and he kills three. He then leaves. Out front are the boys coming home. Gerald Butler is on the walkway but why?

Sage figured that maybe the kid heard the shots and wanted to see if everything was okay. Earlier Brass told her that everyone in the neighborhood watched out for each other and in particular Ms. Whittenbower. In fact all the ladies in the group lived in the neighborhood in the nearby apartments and sublets. It made it seemed like this neighborhood was targeted. It was still early in the evidence gathering phase but right now it seemed like a target and collateral damage.

“Hey, I found something that might help.”

Sage turned to see her partner Nick Stokes joining them. She was still kneeling since she was inspecting the body still. She looked at what he was holding in his gloved hands. “Possible weapon?”

Nick held up the gun, “Maybe. Found it ditched in the bushes over there when I did a sweep of the perimeter. Looks like a 9mm.”

Sage cast a glance at it and looked back at the body. “9mm Beretta 92F. Seems it might be consistent with the spatter inside.”

Nick didn’t say anything as he boxed the gun but he couldn’t help give a slight smile since it was just a thing she did. No doubt Bobby Dawson would confirm the gun type back in ballistics. He tucked it under his arm. “Okay. I’ll finish up on the perimeter.”

“Run with it,” Sage replied as she continued to look at the body. It was her way of saying that she was okay with what he was doing.

Nick felt his lip twitch as he turned to head back to what he was doing. Micromanaging wasn’t a necessity with Sage once a sort of ‘routine’ was established. He and Sara were not really assigned to the case when it was assigned to her but they had just closed their last one and had nothing else on their plates. At least nothing that was exciting like when they were introduced to Lady Heather and her domain.

It was more like a coincidence when the text message came in asking for backup. Sara happened to see it and decided to tag along. Nick of course knew that Sara loved trying to compete with Sage… well actually that wasn’t the right choice of words. They egged each other on and some comments went so far as to poking at their skills. Yet in the end they would get their guy. Nick suspected Sara wanted to see how Sage would act in a leading position. He was curious too.

Unaware of the thoughts circulating through Nick’s head, Sage’s attention was focused on Gerard Butler. She found a few hairs that were similar to what she found on the other victims but there were no skin tags. More likely the killer was shedding at the same time his hair was being yanked out. She bagged the hair and motioned for David to take the body away.

Standing up, she noticed the crowd at the tape. She saw a couple of women crying that matched Gerald’s skin tone. Could be mother and aunt or sister. All in all it was just a bad night for them. She looked at David and said, “Hey David, do you think Doc can do this one first?”

“I can put that as a request,” David replied as he prepped to move the body. “It’s your call on the case.”

“I know. Old habit of asking,” Sage replied with a slight smile as she stood up. She took a couple of breaths and watched it plume out like smoke.

The TOD was estimated at 8pm and normally it would have gone to swing shift. They were tapped out though as well as days. So it fell to graveyard and it was Grissom’s chance to do one of his little puzzle tests. Actually he said that he was tapped out. Catherine and Warrick were on a case and he had his. Sara and Nick were busy and so that left her.

Sage looked around and muttered to herself, “You can do it Sage. I’ve seen your work.”

That was exactly what Grissom said when he handed her the slip with the info from dispatch. She had given him a look since he had said it in that placating tone of his when he complimented her on her handwriting or asked her to help on particularly nasty experiments and that was usually cleanup. In the end she started getting back at Grissom by moving his experiments out of the community fridge and into the lab fridge after reorganizing it.

The upside was that Grissom said she could have Nick and Sara if they were finished with their case. After doing the walkthrough, she sent the page and they came. Of course the roles were reversed. Usually she followed their lead but now she was the lead. Sighing she watched David load the last body up. She looked at Brass and said, “I take it that you’ll get the witness statements?”

“I’m on it,” Brass said as he watched with Sage. “You know honestly I think that whoever did this won’t stand a chance. Not with you at the wheel.”

“In the end it’s all teamwork, Jim.”

Brass made a slight face. “Always the humble one.”

“Well there is the saying about pride before the fall.” Sage looked at where the fourth victim had been and noticed something. She frowned and kneeled back down.

It was covered in blood but she could make it out. She withdrew a pair of fresh tweezers and gently picked it up out of the blood. Holding it up, she inspected it and rotated it while showing her light on it. “Looks like something unique the killer left behind. Looks like a doll.”

“More like from your part of the country?”

Sage looked at Brass and made a slight snort. “Not exactly.”

The item was a small doll but it was not from her part of the country. In fact it wasn’t part of the United States. It had her thinking that this was going into a whole world of weird considering that it seemed out of place with the other evidence at first glance. Even though it was covered in blood, she could make out the details.

“A little tiny to play with don’t you think?”

“These aren’t the kind of dolls you play with,” Sage replied. She picked up an evidence bag and bagged it. “This is the kind that is used like how dream catchers are used.”

“Dream catchers?” Brass looked at Sage with a slight look. “It’s a doll.”

“It’s a worry doll, more likely Guatemalan.” Sage held the bag and continued to look in the pool of blood. She found three others in the blood and collected them. When she sealed and labeled the bag, she held it up to look. “Four dolls, four victims.”

“One for each? Sounds almost like it was premeditated,” Brass commented.

“I don’t think so yet. The idea behind worry dolls is that you tell your worries to it and put them under your pillow and supposedly the worries will melt away.” Sage put the bag with her stuff and continued to look.

The light from her handheld shown on the pavement. She looked down both ways and came across a bloody footprint. It looked like someone had run through the kid’s blood and probably after dropping the worry dolls. Sage sat back on her heels and thought for a moment. This was like one of those added little twists to the story of a murder mystery or something like that. There was something else by the footprint and she studied it.

“Need a marker?”

“Hand me one please.” Sage held out her hand while still looking at the evidence and processing the scene in her mind. There was something funny about this scene but she just couldn’t pinpoint what it was. It was like she might have seen something like it before but she couldn’t recall a previous case both here in Vegas and back at Metro. She even considered the short time she spent at New Orleans PD and drew blanks. She wanted to curse her memory since she did pride herself on remembering things especially when it concerned the evidence; maybe not the whole thing but enough to make a connection and then look it up. It wasn’t special since the team she worked with was just as good and some were better. IN the end it took all of them to solve the case though lately it seemed like she was a spectator except for a trash run and a B&E and robbery that occurred.

Nick handed over the marker and kneeled beside her as she positioned it, his camera in his hand and perched on his knee. “Got something?”

“What makes you think so?”

“You’ve been staring at evidence longer than you need to and you have that look like you’re trying to remember something. You’ve seen anything like this before?”

“That’s the thing, Stokes,” Sage replied as she motioned for him to take pictures. “It seems familiar but I can’t recall a single case that had this MO.” She picked up the shell casing from the 9mm and put it in a bindle. “I know it’s not scientific but my gut is telling me that I’ve seen it before or maybe heard of something like it but I can’t place it.”

“Maybe you’re getting into the book club thing,” Nick said with a slight smile as he finished taking pictures of the bloody footprint. “I’m thinking that is a size nine.”

“Looks about right,” Sage replied as she made notes of the footprint and the shell casing. “As to the gut feeling… not because of the book club thing. I find them a bit tedious… at least the ones I’ve been to.”

“Right cause you’re more into sports.”

“No. It was because I made fun of the books they discussed. Romance novels.”

“Bugs, blood and sports for you, right?”

Sage glanced at Nick with a slight grin. He was grinning at her. She knew that he knew that he only figured out a fraction of her aside from what she had chosen to reveal of herself. Like for one thing when there was that bullying case that she was in casual conversation with since she was working on a robbery, she was asked what she was in high school. She hummed when Nick said that he was dependable. Her response was freak and geek and admitted that she was considered a pretty girl but she was too smart hence freak and geek.

Warrick knew the whole story behind that and could guess why. He didn’t say anything or make a quip about it and he admitted that it was because they were tight. Of course the next case they had, the suspect was still on location and brandishing a gun and Warrick manhandled her out of the way before they got into serious trouble. As he said they were tight and they watched each other’s backs, especially when she found the booby trap in the house that would have killed him if she hadn’t told him to stop.

Looking at Nick, she said, “In my determination not to be seen as a nerd, I turned to sports and that is a whole other story together. Right now we have one about a dead poet’s society and a kid who got caught in the crossfire.”

“And you have gut instinct.”

“Put it all together and we have what any mystery novel writer dreams of, a mystery of the ages.” Sage finished what she was doing and scoured around where the body had been left. “I already feel like one of those detectives from those stories.”

“Hello Sherlock Holmes,” Nick teased as he looked around. He found some hairs in the grass. He marked it and retrieved it.

“I am not a manic depressive,” Sage countered. “But I can say that this guy must have staked the place out. He was in and out after doing what he needed to do and left behind witnesses and that is what bothers me.”

“Thinking a hit?”

“Too mob-like and highly unlikely,” Sage replied. She shone her light around and she started expanding her search outward. “Thing about having special access to the FBI, you end up picking up a few things.”

Her light went up on the stairs and took a look at the door. Witnesses said that the suspect came through the back and exited. “Stokes, would you mind checking the back yard of the house? Look for any signs of forced or passive entry.”

Nick lowered his light. There wasn’t much else to bag and tag that was pertinent to the case. He picked up his kit and headed to the back while Sage made her way back inside. When he rounded the corner, he found the door closed. Slowly he looked around the doorframe and found that it had been nailed shut. He looked up when he saw Sage tapping on the window with a gloved knuckle. She then opened it and said, “Thinking an acrobat?”


	2. Chapter 2

“You know for some reason I think you get the strange ones on purpose.”

“Well Doc, Grissom did promise me the weird ones a while back,” Sage replied in a somber like tone as she adjusted the scrubs she was wearing for autopsy. “So Gerald Butler first?”

“As you requested,” Doc Robbins replied with a gentle smile and an equally somber tone. “Shot to the back with a 9mm. I retrieved it for you. Consistent with your accounts that he was running away when the shooting occurred.”

“Anything else?”

“I did find abrasions on the side of the head. It is consistent with the other three. It wasn’t what killed them though.”

“I think that was obvious Doc,” Sage replied with a slight smile. She sighed a bit and looked at the abrasions on the kid’s cheek. She also took a moment to look at the other ladies and the marks on their faces.

All four victims were showing signs of perimortem bruising where they had been struck. They were all hit in roughly the same area as well. The lacerations were almost triangular or semicircular. It had Sage frowning at the shape and size. “What kind of weapon would you say made these?”

Doc Robbins adjusted his glasses and moved to where he had the x-rays up. “Well I don’t know if you are in the mood to be surprised or anything like that.”

“I don’t get enough while on the clock,” Sage quipped.

“Are you familiar with the term buffaloing?”

Sage frowned at the term. That didn’t sound familiar at all. “No.”

“It is also known as pistol whipping,” Doc Robbins explained, “When pistol barrels were longer, it was easy and possible to kill a man by holding the gun like normal and bringing it down in a downwards strike. The barrel would hit the head and thus render the victim unconscious. Quite popular to use back in the old west.”

“Something for when Vegas was dying I guess?”

Doc Ribbons gave a slight nod in agreement. “All four victims had injuries consistent with pistol whipping by a downward strike but at an angle to the temporal region.”

“That would be enough to daze the victim right?”

“Or knock them out,” Doc Robbins replied. He then pointed to the x-rays. “Since the oldest victim was well into her sixties, there is a larger fracture. The older people get, the more fragile the bones.”

“Sure sign of our lifespan right?”

Doc Robbins chuckled a bit at that. “From what I can tell, all four were hit by the same kind of weapon. The size is consistent. Then your three ladies were shot in the chest, dead center.”

“And all this with four other ladies in the room,” Sage muttered as she looked at the x-rays and then moved back towards the bodies. “Doesn’t this sound strange to you?”

“I deal with cause of death. It’s your area to figure out the rest but I do find it odd how these three were chosen and then shoot the boy. It doesn’t sound like your typical bloodbath or even a homicide with a motive.”

“Since when does murder really have a good why?”

Doc Robbins made a slight look and shrugged his shoulders slightly. “There really is no good reason.” He paused a bit before continuing, “I did find possible skin cells under the fingernails of the victims including Gerald here.”

“So they put up a fight?” Sage looked at the doctor for confirmation. At the nod she frowned at that. This case had just begun and already it was in the realm of weird. Maybe Doc Robbins was right in that she had a knack for attracting the weird. She wondered if Grissom knew what the case would entail and decided to pass it off onto her. If that were the case, she was going to have to do some serious rearrangement of the lab fridge just to mess with him and move the experiment out of the community fridge.

“Looks like it.”

Sage looked down at the bodies on the slabs. She leaned on the one that had the middle aged woman by the name of Candy Burton, 33 and mother of a bouncing little boy. The youngest was Elizabeth Shorten, 26, and works as a cocktail waitress at the Tangiers. Gerald Butler, 14, was a freshman in high school. She pondered what the autopsies were significant in. As of this moment, she was stumped by it. One could only hope that the evidence they collected and processed would be bigger help. This just made her initial run though a leaky boat but then again that was why they called it a prelim.

Sage tapped her gloved fingers on the table and worried her lower lip. “Was there anything else?”

“I’ll know after the post but for the most part it was like someone pistol whipped your victims after they fought back and they were shot.” Doc Robbins moved towards Candy Burton and removed the sheet from her chest, “I did find stippling to indicate that your gun was fired at close range.”

“That means it was personal but…” Sage frowned in confusion.

“I’m guessing this contradicts your scene,” Robbins offered.

“Contradicts a lot of things, Doc. Up close and personal like the suspect was known but victims fight back. Gerald here was shot running away. It’s like a hodgepodge of different circumstances. Like chaos at a crime scene.”

“Possible cross contamination maybe?”

“I don’t think so. When I was there doc, the scene laid out… Strange but it felt like it was familiar but looking at what we have…” Sage shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe you’re right in that I attract the weird ones.”

“I meant it as a compliment,” Doc Robbins replied.

“Yeah well considering my dismal rep around here I’ll accept that as a compliment,” Sage replied as she looked at her bodies. “Can you let me know anything else you find in post?”

“I’ll even do a full tox panel for you,” Doc Robbins replied in a tone like he was placating a petulant little girl. He gave a slight smile in Sage’s direction.

Sage shot a look at the doctor but smiled her thanks. “Thanks. I think on this case, we can afford to spend the money on extraneous. Something about this is going to rub me the wrong way the entire shift.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I heard that days was hopping mad that they didn’t get this one.”

“Technically it would have been swing but they’re tapped out,” Sage replied. “Either that or someone was doing serious kiss ass.” She moved towards the door and paused, ‘Thanks doc. I’d like your final report when you have it.”

“I’ll let you have my notes before the final,” Doc Robbins promised. “I’ll humor you.”

“Thank you.”

****

Sara was still processing the room that the Homicide Society book club had occupied during the shooting. The scene was what bothered her in that the point of disturbance was where the bodies were. The books that fell on the floor were indicative of surprise but there was much disturbed in terms of maybe grabbing the assailant or something like that.

Looking around the room, she noted how items were reproductions to the real deal and historically accurate. Some looked like they popped out of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle works. Certainly Sherlock Holmes had a place of honor on the bookcase closest to the main desk in the room. The circle of chairs was fairly intact. The only disturbances were the chairs shoved aside from the side closest to the door.

She stood in the entryway and looked at the scene. She looked at the disturbances and shook her head. She could see the three women getting shot but in her mind she was asking about the other four. What were they doing?

“I figured out how he may have gotten in.”

Sara jumped at the sound of Nick’s voice. She had been so absorbed in viewing the scene that she hadn’t heard Nick come in. She tried to hide it by being annoyed, “Yeah well I hope you figured out how he got in and managed to hold seven women hostage.”

Nick grinned a little. He knew that he had startled Sara, “I can’t tell you that but I can tell you that the back door was his ticket in.”

“I thought it was nailed shut?”

“It was,” Nick replied. “It was nailed from the outside, like it was done to prevent people from getting out through the back. However the back door window was unlocked.”

“Don’t tell me, it was easy to jimmy open,” Sara replied looking at Nick like he discovered the winning lotto numbers.

“All you need is a knife and you got it open,” Nick said as he motioned that it was easy as pie. “I managed to lift a few good prints off the glass and wood. We might get lucky that the perp is in the system. I also found some strange substance, not blood. I scraped a sample for trace.” Nick looked at the scene Sara had been looking at.

Sara had put her arms across her chest and stood looking at the scene too. “Stumps you too huh?”

Nick cleared his throat and adjusted his position by putting his hands on his hips. “Well according to the witnesses, the suspect came from the back of the house and into the room and held seven women at gunpoint. He pops three and runs out the door and shoots a fourteen year old who was in his way.”

“There was some struggle though since these are points of disturbance,” Sara replied as she pointed it out. “Indicates struggle and it is relative to the position of the bodies as they were found.”

“Which means that something is out of place here,” Nick concluded, “There were four other women in here with three ranging from their late twenties to late thirties, and one was a reservist for the Army? She would know how to disarm the guy.”

Sara had to admit that Nick was right. Somebody had to be lying about what happened. “So somebody is lying.”

“Or they were in on it and are trying to cover it up,” Nick put in.

“And both are viable,” Sage replied as she came through the front door. “All four victims were pistol whipped and there were indications of struggle. Greg’s running it through the lab now. Anything else?” She walked into the parlor and took stock of the overturned chairs and noted the books on the ground.

“Prints off the back door and trace,” Nick offered.

“I found a section of shelf with missing books,” Sara replied. She had gone in and started looking again with Sage. She noticed the missing books when she looked at the shelves.

“Robbery now?” Nick raised his brow as he watched the two women. He started back tracking to the back door to make sure he didn’t miss anything.

“Looks like it,” Sara replied. She ran a gloved finger and came up with dust and noted the disturbances. It was a thin layer indicating that the shelves were taken care of on a regular basis. Sara scoured the shelves to get a better picture of it. “Looks like it was a whole series maybe.”

“So we have a thief and a killer,” Nick replied as he kneeled to inspect what looked like a bullet hole. “Are we looking for two people or one?”

Sage was looking at the scene. She had taken a step back when she felt her eyes start to water. She had noticed that when she left Doc Robbins to finish his autopsy. It was an annoyance at best and ignored it as she listened to Sara and Nick talk it through. She asked, “Any physical evidence of a second person?”

Nick made a wry face. “Working on it.”

“Hey it was a whole series that was missing,” Sara said. “Everything is alphabetized by title.”

“An organized person… gotta love it,” Sage said as she kneeled by an end table. She had noticed something that had been missed.

“Yeah well our killer thief took a whole series that was alphabetized in the D section.” Sara looked around and felt something hit her foot. She looked down and noticed a footstool and she saw something underneath. She figured that it might have fallen.

Kneeling she reached for it. It turned out to be a paperback and Sara rotated it to read the title. She raised her brow and looked up at the shelf and did a mental calculation. She looked at the book again and said, “I think I know what he took.”

“A first edition of a detective novel?” Nick chuckled as he finished his collection.

Sara made a slight face and scoffed, “Actually it’s a modern series and one of my favorite actually. _DC Homicide_ and looks like this one is the Baltimore Cereal.” She looked at the book and found it to be in good condition. She bagged it.

“I remember that one. The suspect ended up getting caught because of his obsession with breakfast cereal,” Nick replied as he finished up. “Yeah uh Martin Kessler was the one that came up with the scenario to get the guy. Pretty ingenious and the science is pretty spot on. One of the better crime series I’ve read.”

“I didn’t know you read,” Sara teased.

“Oh I read,” Nick countered. “I just happen to like Sarre’s work. I actually have a signed copy of the first one. Sent by fan club.”

“And did you write her a letter saying how much you love her book?”

“And I’m sure you did too. The science was good… almost like Sarre was a criminalist herself or she did a ride along or something. What do you think Parker?”

In the meantime, Sage was using a pair of tweezers to pick up a piece of what appeared to be an earring, a stud. The back was nearby and she also picked that up. She was suspicious that the earring was dropped purposely. She barely heard Nick’s question but she managed to reply, “I’m an Agatha Christie myself.”

“You’re killing me you know that?” Nick looked around the corner at Sage.

“You’ll live.”

****

The lab was bustling with activity with the techs doing their work with the cases that were still active. It was a busy night since it seemed that crime decided to drop in and say hello. Already there were rumors about the latest case regarding the Homicide Society book club.

“Yeah, it’s an actual book club that has members that read and reenact parts of crime novels ranging from Sherlock Holmes to even the Tom Clancy novels. Murder/Mystery type of stuff. They even hold conventions and try to get the various authors to show up and do a panel and book signing. Sometimes they get lucky and one of their books gets reenacted and the guests have to solve it.”

Nick looked at Greg who was busy with the skin samples and then at Sara. Sometimes the things that Greg knew were strange even if they were normal but that was just Greg; like his whole knowledge about liquid latex. “And how do you know about this Greggo?”

“I subscribe to the newsletter,” Greg replied as he set the samples into the analyzer. He hit the button and turned to his two guests. “And I just happen to have a rare edition of Jamaica Heat. Bought it when I was in New York.”

“Never heard of it,” Sara replied shaking her head.

“Well that was because few copies were printed. It was a side story to a main series, what fans would call a prequel,” Greg replied spinning it out a little. He thought it cool that they got to see the inside a chapter house of the Homicide Society because he heard that the chapter leaders were the most serious which was why they were granted a chapter.

“A prequel? You’re making this up I know it,” Sara replied.

“Would I ever lie to you?” Greg gave a knowing look at Sara. He backed way and went to his cupboard where he stashed his Blue Hawaiian for the month and pulled it out. He brought it over. “Must’ve read it over a hundred times and actually was the basis for getting into the Homicide society.”

At that moment the machine beeped and Greg went over to be ready for the results. Sara held the book and took in the cover and the title. Her eyes flitted down to the author, “Page K. Sarre, _Jamaica Heat_.”

“A prequel eh?” Nick replied. He looked at the cover and the title. He was familiar with _DC Homicide_. It really was one of the better series. It had just the right amount of suspense but not to the point where the science was made up. Real techniques and he even learned about some old school techniques that hadn’t been used in years but they helped out in a pinch.

Seeing the book in Sara’s hand had him thinking. “Hey Sara, you said that the whole series was missing right? Except for the one that fell?”

Sara was admiring the cover. She had opened it and noted the publishing year and there was a handwritten note and it was signed by the author. She couldn’t believe that Greg actually had an autographed signature. Nick she thought was teasing since this was Nick but Greg was something else. She heard Nick and replied, “Yeah. Baltimore Cereal. It wasn’t as popular as the others.”

“Maybe it was because Parsons was working with Kessler and they had a thing going on,” Greg replied as he brought over the results. “Okay I still have a bit to do but the epithelials are male and they don’t match your kid Gerald Butler…”

“That’s a relief,” Nick muttered.

“But the DNA from the hairs that were recovered were female… XX,” Greg finished as he looked at the two CSIs. “So looks like you might have someone tag teaming on this. Give me something to compare it to and we’re good.”

Nick scoured the report. That didn’t seem right. He found only one set of prints on that back door and the witnesses described only one assailant. “And it looks like we might have a liar in our group,” he said as he looked at Sara.

“Thinking someone that wanted a well-reviewed series.”

“Or they could have staged it as a robbery gone bad.”

“Either way you guys, you need to eliminate suspects,” Greg replied as he leaned on the table. “By the way did you know that some of these fans go to great lengths to stage crime scenes and call in their society buddies solve it?”

Nick looked at Sara and they thought about it for a moment. Sara looked at Greg and gave a sweet smile, “Greg, how do you feel about doing something for us?”

“I’m all for helping out on the case but,” Greg took back his book and put it back in the cupboard, “I do have a list I have to get through and Grissom was on my butt about someone rearranging the lab fridge. By the way, it’s possible Baltimore Cereal was left behind because Parsons was with Kessler. A lot of the reviews cited that they didn’t like him because he was shady himself.” He paused as he picked up a tray. “Just a thought.”

Nick and Sara left the lab thinking about what they just uncovered. “Two suspects and one entry and one set of prints that Mandy is working on. How is that possible?” Nick paused to look at Sara in a questioning way.

“Maybe an inside job,” Sara pointed out. “Could be one of our book club ladies.”

“Or it could be a reenactment gone wrong,” Nick pointed out. “Greggo just pointed out that these groups do this kind of thing all the time.”

“But that depends on the book they were going over at the time,” Sara replied. She thought about it and recalled the evidence collection. David was there and Sage had quipped her about her head being in the game. Sage read the title… “ _Murder at Ravenhearst_ is the book they were reading,” she said as she looked at Nick.

“Was there even a scene mentioned like ours?”

“No. David mentioned that it was a period novel.” Sara motioned with her fingers as she thought it through. True she read crime novels and she had been working on reducing it since the day Grissom told her she needed to find something outside of law enforcement otherwise she would burn out. She had reduced the number and she always did go back to her favorite series which was _DC Homicide_.

“So it would have been staged with period items. Someone that meticulous would pay attention to detail.”

“Now you’re sounding like Parker,” Sara teased with a smile. “So we have the possibility that our witnesses may be lying to us. I think a little road trip is called for.” She grinned at the prospect. “I’ll call Brass.”

“Hey we gotta run it by Parker,” Nick reminded Sara. “She’s the lead on this.”

“Right,” Sara replied. She had been about ready to take off. Most already knew that Sage had a thing about order and being asked first. It was a politeness thing and Sara thought it was a way to get people in the lab to be civil with each other. Certainly that seemed to be the case when she saw Sage and Ecklie talking and having a civilized conversation. “You wanna do that?”

“You’re afraid of her now?”

“No but it seems like you two need to talk. You’ve been avoiding each other almost and apart from Greg, me and Warrick… you guys are always heckling each other. What gives?”

“Nothing,” Nick replied with a slight shake of his head. “We just haven’t been calling favors from our bets. Most of her free nights are busy. Her business Sara.” He gave a slight look at Sara before continuing to look for their leader. “I’ll let her know.”

Sara watched for a moment. It was probably nothing and she wasn’t sure whether or not to make a big deal out of it since when they first met it was like oil and water. It still seemed like that but there was a playfulness to it. She shook her head and went in search of Brass.


	3. Chapter 3

“You know I could have done that for ya Sparks.”

“I know Bobby but you got the 9mil there and the bullets recovered. You need to compare them,” Sage replied as she blinked for a moment and peered back into the magnifier. She was working on trying to extract the bullet from the book _Murder at Ravenhearst_ that she had recovered at the scene.

She blinked again since it seemed that her eyes were very watery and they felt a bit sore; like they were itchy and they felt like when she left her glasses on for too long. It was bothersome and she considered the possibility of dry eye syndrome but brushed it off as she focused on extracting her bullet from the book.

“Fire number one.”

Sage paused while Bobby fired his shot from the 9mm that Nick recovered at the scene. She then continued and with a little luck she managed to get the bullet out without causing too much damage to the book and the bullet. She held it up between her thumb and forefinger and looked at it with a discerning eye. “Thanks for the warning Bobby.”

“Isn’t safety the big thing?” Bobby gave a smirk as he glanced over at Sage. He then continued as he was looking through his scope, “So I heard that you’re an expert on firearms now.”

“And where did you hear that malarkey?” Sage wrote down the bullet as evidence and wrote in her notes.

“A birdy told me that you ID’d this gun at the scene and didn’t even ask,” Bobby replied. He was smirking as he continued inspecting the bullets. “You trying to put me out of a job?”

“If I wanted to put you out of a job I would have applied as a lab tech,” Sage replied as she handed over the bullet she recovered. “Besides I only recognized the type of gun because my daddy has one. Military thing.”

“That explains it,” Bobby replied as he put the extracted bullet under the scope. “The Beretta 92F is one of the more popular guns used by the military. Has a short recoil, semi-auto pistol with a 15 round cartridge. Been the standard sidearm of military replacing the Colt M9A11. Though the Sig is making a bit of a takeover. The Beretta is issued to military sealift commands nowadays. Pretty good weapon though.”

Sage had been listening to Bobby ramble. She teased him, “And I love a guy who knows his guns.” She gave a slightly flirtatious smile, both knowing that it was part of the teasing.

Bobby was chuckling as he looked under the scope. “Okay Sparks, tell me what you see.” He stepped back and motioned towards the scope. He then crossed his arms over his chest looking pleased with himself.

Sage blinked a bit as she went over to the scope to take a peek. Peering she could see two bullets on each side. “Test bullet on the right?”

“Yep.”

Sage peered again. She saw that the striations matched up. She asked, “And the ones pulled from the victims?”

“Only the one pulled from your youngest vic. Whoever hit the book, hit the kid. As for the others… I don’t know.”

Sage nodded in agreement. As of now they did have one murder weapon confirmed. Now the hard part was trying to come up with a suspect with a name and not to mention another weapon. She knew that Mandy would be running prints that they collected. “Well once again you’ve put the ball in our court Bobby. Make sure to put everything in the report. I need everything even mundane.”

“Trying to give the sheriff a heart attack?”

“Not really but let’s just say that this case might need all the support it can get within reason,” Sage replied. She picked up the book and bagged it. Judging from the way that the bullet entered the book, she was thinking it was held up either by the shooter or one of the victims inside the house. She was thinking it was used like a poor man’s silencer but it didn’t seem quite right.

“Alright then and I’ll check the serial if it’s there. We might get lucky.”

“Is there such a thing as luck, Bobby?” Sage looked at Bobby and gave a slight smile. This case was really going to probably give the sheriff a heart attack once he saw the costs associated with it. She didn’t even relish the conversation that might occur later. She picked up the evidence bag with the book and gave a nod to Bobby and started for the lab to work with fingerprints on the book. Along the way she rubbed her eyes since they were feeling itchy. This was getting irritating and she was about ready to…

“There you are,” Nick’s voice came through the hall and drew closer indicating that he was coming right at her.

Sage turned still rubbing her eye. The right was especially itchy and the left was watery. “Yes you found me,” she said, “So what’s the fire?”

Nick frowned a bit at her since her tone sounded irritated. They were barely on a case and already she was irritated by it? Actually he felt the same since there were things that didn’t make sense. He brushed it aside as he gave what Greg filled him in on, “Greg ran the hairs and skin samples… we’ve got two people in there and that puts the accounts off.”

“Thing about witness statements; they are about as reliable as pseudoscience at times,” Sage replied as she blinked to let the tears flow. “So what do you guys think?”

“Well somebody’s lying. Possibly one might be in on it.”

“I got something that might help with that.” Sage handed what Bobby gave her before she left. “Bobby test fired the gun you collected. It matches the bullets from what I found in this book and Gerald Butler. Gives the possibility of two people and two guns.”

“So what do you want to do?”

“I got this to work on and I’ll get a swab from the gun. All the victims were pistol whipped leaving perimortem bruising.” Sage started to turn.

“And?”

Sage turned to look at Nick. She blinked again and replied, “Follow up with the witnesses. You guys found the lead… so follow it. Just keep me posted.”

Nick frowned as he watched her turn slightly. Since Sara mentioned what was going on, he couldn’t help but be thoughtful about it. They weren’t fighting or anything. As far as he was concerned she had something going on that was her business. If she wanted to share, she would. Still… “Hey Parker, are you okay?”

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” Sage frowned as she looked at Nick, wondering where this conversation was going. She thought about it for a moment and then added, “I may be a bit huffy but it has nothing to do with anything. Eyes on the case Stokes.”

“Yeah I hear you on that but… just making sure. You’ve rain checked a lot of the debt collection. I don’t mind since I would put off what you agreed to myself…” Nick stopped himself since it was apparent that she wasn’t really listening. She seemed anxious to get on with the case and he figured that this could wait. “You know… never mind. We got a case so I’m gonna go with Sara and talk to the witnesses.”

“Alright,” Sage replied. She paused as she watched Nick turn. She knew that she had been doing what he had pointed out. It was surprising that he was mentioning it with concern. She added, “And Stokes, I haven’t forgotten. I will pay up.”

Nick took in the smile that meant her word was bond. He wasn’t going to worry about it. He turned and went to track down Sara and track down their lead. There was nothing to get in arms about and assumed it was strange to Sara because she had seen them always in a sort of argumentative state.

In the meantime Sage turned and went to handle the book and see if there were prints to be found. She spent quite a bit of time chatting with Mandy who was visually comparing the ridge detail on all the prints. She dropped another name trying to guess who it was that Mandy made serenade to her before she arrived on the scene.

****

Running through notes was definitely not the so glorious part of the case but it needed to be done and no better place than the break room. Even though there were people wandering in and out, it was not as distracting as people thought especially when you were trying to run through scenarios taking into account the evidence.

Sage was glad that Doc Robbins had given a copy of his notes to her from when they took first looks at the bodies. She knew he was going to be working quite a bit to get them done since there were four. She requested Gerald’s to be first since she couldn’t get the image of that mother out of her mind. She rubbed her eyes as she studied them and tapped the table top with her pen gently while trying to think. It seemed that she was going to be putting in the overtime and already she was racking up expenses on a case that was more than weird.

Sage pulled the crime sketch that Sara made of the interior with the sketch Nick did of the perimeter. She read the notes and ran with the tip of her pen at the different points. Her lips moved as she silently read the notes all three of them took and compared them to Doc Robbins’ notes. The thing that was bugging her was that this case seemed so familiar and she couldn’t place it anywhere. Plus there were things that just didn’t make sense… like the worry dolls.

“Kind of looks like my desk.”

Sage looked up to see Grissom walking in to grab a cup of coffee. She said, “You have organized chaos. This is chaos.”

“And from chaos comes order,” Grissom replied.

“Friedrich Nietzsche,” Sage gave with a slight smile. She sighed and wrote something on her notepad.

“Very good,” Grissom replied as he poured a cup. He took a tentative taste and nodded since it didn’t taste like motor oil. “I wish the same could be said for the placement of my experiments.”

“Wouldn’t that be a good thing,” Sage replied in agreement. So it appeared that he had noticed her none to subtle hint about experiments in the community fridge and the like. “Sometimes things just come right out and say them.”

“And it would be better if it were put in a memo.”

“Everyone knows you don’t read memos.”

Grissom looked at Sage as she studied her notes. “Is this about handing the case to you?”

“No,” Sage replied with a frown as she looked up. She knew that Grissom was fishing for the culprit regarding the moved experiments. If it was bothering him this much, she hoped that he would see it as a hint. “Boss, I’m just surprised you gave me a multiple to handle on my own. I was figuring a more senior CSI would be put on it or swing but it is what it is.”

Grissom was still frowning. He had his suspicions that it was Sage that had been moving things around. The reorganization was neat and tidy and consistent with her habits. It was made clear when he spoke with Greg and the DNA tech looked at him like he was crazy. He asked about the case since it was the thing evident at the moment, “Is the case a problem?”

“Not a problem just the fact that certain things seem out of place.” Sage paused a moment and then sighed. She looked at Grissom and said, “And somehow everything looks familiar but I can’t place it. A gut thing and I know that is not very scientific.”

Grissom was frowning as he was listening, “Okay so you have things that seem part of it but not context. What does that tell you?”

Sage thought about it for a moment. She looked down at her notes and then came across the notation about the worry dolls. She looked up slightly deep in thought as she sorted it out. Sudden she said, “Obscuris ver involvens.” She looked at Grissom and said, “Thanks Boss.”

Grissom watched as she collected her things and was out of the break room quicker than he could put the pot of coffee in his hands down. He raised his brow and said, “I never thought she would come up with Virgil.”

In the meantime Sage went to the evidence locker and checked out the worry dolls. They had already been swabbed and checked for everything. She took them and was walking out while looking at them. She almost bumped into Greg and apologized, “Sorry Greggo. I think I found something.”

“You mean on your book club case?”

“Yeah that one.” Sage was still looking at the dolls. “Just had something click as to why certain things seem familiar to me.”

“You mean like those dolls you’re holding?” Greg frowned and then added, “That bit was out of the _Coyote’s Run_.”

Sage stopped in her tracks and looked at Greg. “How did you know that?”

“I read sometimes,” Greg replied a bit nervous. Sage was giving him that look that was similar to Grissom’s when he was waiting for a result. It was much more nerve wracking coming from Sage since she often had a no nonsense approach when she was deadly serious. “ _Coyote’s Run_ was about four immigrants getting murdered and the killer left behind a miniature doll, one for each victim. It was a good suspense thriller but some of the leads were not…”

“Greg,” Sage interrupted gently, “How many crime novels have you read?”

“Quite a few but I have a preference…”

“Are you familiar with the bestsellers and even a few obscure ones?”

“Yeah. I have a signed copy of _Jamaica Heat_ that I keep with my private coffee stash. Reminds me of the times I had in New York,” Greg replied. It seemed that Sage was going somewhere on this and it was involving what he knew. As to the exact details… that was up for debate. “Why?”

Sage had been momentarily startled when Greg mentioned _Jamaica Heat_ but she brushed it off. She had something here and if Sara and Nick came back with what she had in mind, then they had money. She looked at the tech and said, “I could kiss you right about now. Thanks for the tip Greg.”

“I would say you’re welcome but…” Greg watched as Sage left. He went back to his lab to check on the samples from another case that was in queue.

****

Sara wasn’t sure if they were in a mess or what. She and Nick were waiting to question the witnesses that were in the room when the shooting started. Brass had managed to get them to come in and have them wait and put Vega on retrieving the kids. Everyone was in agreement on some things but the details were the fuzzy parts and there were some things that contradicted what the evidence was saying. She was hoping to compel a DNA sample to rule out the ladies in the room.

The first lady was a high school teacher by the name of Melanie Wright. Sara looked at her and noted that she appeared nervous. She started off, “Mrs. Wright, thank you for coming in. I know that it must be an ordeal and difficult but we do appreciate it.”

“We all want to help. I mean we aren’t like you people but we know that the first at the scene is usually the suspect. We just want to be eliminated as suspects,” Melanie said as she looked at Sara with a straight and serious look.

Sara was a bit surprised by the bluntness of the response even though it sounded like it was coming from a clueless blonde and she didn’t mean it in a mean way even though the woman was strawberry blonde. “So you won’t mind if I take a swab?”

“Not at all,” Melanie replied. She had her hands folded on the table and was giving a polite smile.

Sara raised her brow as she took the swab. “Thanks.”

Melanie smiled as she held her mouth open while Sara took the swab. She also made a humming sound as if to say ‘you’re welcome’ even though her mouth was open. Once the swab was out, she said, “You know that you will find something of everyone in that room. How will you sort it out?”

“We have our means,” Sara replied feeling a little uncomfortable that this woman seemed to be a bit nosy about their procedures.

“Oh I know. But still it is rather interesting to see how you form the reconstructions based upon what you find. The science has come a long way since the beginning. I mean _Murder at Ravenhearst_ is a period novel and it is amazing how there were some people astute enough to figure things out.”

Sara cleared her throat as she tagged the swab. While it was nice to know that there were people out there that were interested in how they did their work, this was not the best time to be airing it. They were trying to determine a suspect and if the four remaining ladies were as ‘helpful’ as Melanie was being, then they would probably end up spinning their wheels and nothing annoyed Sara more than spinning her wheels while trying to solve a case.

Once she was ready, Sara imitated the posture of Melanie by placing her hands on the table on top of the file folder. “All right so you all were doing your weekly book club thing…”

“It’s the Homicide Society weekly chapter meetings. Mae was the president of our chapter,” Melanie corrected.

Sara raised her brow slightly, “Okay the Homicide Society chapter meeting and you were going over a book right? Discussing the plot?”

“Yes, _Murder at Ravenhearst_ was the week’s selection. We were actually finishing it and we were thinking of holding an extra meeting to finish the book and move on to a modern series,” Melanie replied.

“Did you reenact any scenes?”

“Not in full costumes but we were pulling out bits. We recite lines when we are determining who did the murder. Of course everyone knows how it ends but the fun is to assume the part of someone who hasn’t read it before.” Melanie paused and looked at Sara for a moment. “You really don’t get why we do it do you?”

“I am more curious about it,” Sara replied. She was being cautious with this one. She didn’t want to offend anyone with an abstract comment or anything that could be considered offensive. “So in these reenactments, do they get physical; do arguments ever break out?”

“What doesn’t break out?” Melanie took in the look that Sara was giving her. She knew that she had to explain otherwise there would be a serious misunderstanding. She continued, “There are always disagreements. Aside from reenactment we also argue and critique over the book that we are reading. Some feel more strongly than others about certain authors.”

“So did it get physical like hair pulling?”

“Well…” Melanie wasn’t quite sure but in the end she said, “Annie March, the Western romantic as we call her, she really didn’t like the book and never missed a beat to criticize the book with Candy. They were always going at it. Never liked the same thing. We couldn’t get it but we all thought it was outside stuff like an affair or something and we really didn’t allow it at meetings. Personal stuff stayed out since it would interfere with the case.”

It was enough to almost make Sara laugh since it was similar to what Grissom would say. She didn’t though. “Okay so was it Annie that had her hair pulled out?”

“Well they pushed and shoved. Mae tried to break it up and that’s when the guy came in. He was in black and wearing a mask. He waved a gun and told us to do what he said.”

That part was consistent with the general report. Sara nodded, “Okay so he had you all held hostage. What about Dana Turner? She was a reservist for the Army. She would have known how to disarm the guy.”

“Dana has a four year old daughter. She wasn’t going to do anything stupid like that,” Melanie pointed out. “I mean she may be a reservist but she’s also a mother. She’s not on duty or anything so…” She shrugged her shoulders to indicate that piece of information wasn’t relevant at least in her view. “Anyway Candy, Mae and Eliza resisted. The guy hit them and when they refused to cooperate… he shot Candy first.”

Sara watched as the look on Melanie’s face changed. She could see that she was clearly remembering something and she hoped that it was relevant to the investigation. She prompted, “Melanie, we know that there were at least two different guns. Did someone bring a gun or was there someone you didn’t see? Maybe they were hiding in the room and you didn’t notice them while everything else was going on?”

Melanie thought about it. “Everything was going pretty fast. I saw the guy in black. He kept telling us to shut up and that…” She frowned as she thought about it.

Sara noticed and prompted, “And what Melanie? Did he say anything or do anything?”

Melanie thought really hard as she tried to remember. She remembered being closest to the man and… She thought she saw someone else now that she thought about it. Right now though the one that pointed the gun at… Dana. He was saying…

Sara knew that Melanie was remembering. The trace like state was enough to tell her that. At the moment though she needed an answer; some sort of clue to get the investigation moving along. She asked, “What did he say, Melanie?”

Melanie thought long and hard. She could recall the words that he said before the first shot went off. She looked at Sara and replied, “He said that we were all posers; that we didn’t know what it was like to solve real crimes. He said that we didn’t know what people were truly capable of.” She paused a bit to catch her breath and then continued, “Candy was the one that asked what did he know about crime? That was when she got hit with the gun.”

Sara nodded as she took down the notation. She could see that the reality had set in for Melanie and she was clearly shaken by the whole thing. At least they had something to go on and it sounded like the suspect thought he knew what it took to commit a crime or he knew what he thought should be the solution to a case. She hated to continue but she needed to confirm a few things, “So that was when a struggle ensued?”

Melanie nodded as she took a couple of breaths. “Yes. Candy was hit and Eliza and Mae tried to stop it but they got hit. The gun went off and I think it was Mae that got hit first or something. Then Gerald appeared out of nowhere…”

“So the front door was unlocked?”

“Mae had that bad habit. She also liked having the kids of the neighborhood come in. She would have snacks for them,” Melanie affirmed as Sara wondered if Nick was having better luck with their ladies before starting on the kids.


	4. Chapter 4

“Now Mrs. Burke…”

“Please, call me Lola. Mrs. Burke is what my mother was referred to.”

Nick cleared his throat as the elderly lady gave him a smile sitting across from him. He was considering the possibility that he had drawn the short straw when it came to questioning the witnesses. Still the upside was that they all wanted to cooperate in this investigation. “Alright… Lola… um when the Homicide Society was meeting, was there anything unusual?”

“We read and solve crimes young man. Everything is unusual.”

Nick tried not to make a face at that. “Right. What I meant was did anyone see someone that maybe didn’t belong before everything went down?”

“No it was like how it usually went.” Lola Burke paused and it appeared that she was eyeing Nick speculatively. “Mae was acting a little bit strangely though but then again she always gets that way when she has a surprise like a reenactment or something like that. She always liked to keep up the suspense with the meeting.”

“So it could be that she had someone waiting to play your suspect or whoever they were going to play waiting?”

“Yes and she came in,” Lola replied. At the look Nick was giving her, she had to explain, “ _Murder at Ravenhearst_ , the main suspect was the youngest daughter Helen. Everyone suspects her since she is the only one without an alibi. We were just at the part where the dashing Nicholas Stevedore…”

Nick did his best to be polite as he listened to Lola talk about where the actress was supposed to help. It didn’t help that the woman was giving him the speculative eye when she mentioned one of the characters. At least he was grateful he was doing this interview solo or he would have never heard the end of it.

“And I think he’s sexy though you could fit the bill too. Anyway Stevedore was going over the possible scenario and that was when the girl was supposed to come out pretending to be Helen. She came out and did her thing and that was when the other came in.”

“The other?”

“Yes skinny, dressed in black. He had a gun and he was pointing it at Candy. He started saying a bunch of nonsense that we were posers. Mae tried to resolve the situation but he hit her. Candy and Liz, Elizabeth, got hit too for trying to stop it…” Lola reached for the tissue that had come out of her purse. She blew her nose.

 _So there were two people in that house that were not regulars._ Nick thought about what Lola had been telling him and took down notes. He searched for the right words to say without making the witness into a leaky faucet of tears. “Lola, after the three ladies got hit by the gun, can you recall what happened then”

“I may be old sonny but my mind is still sharp,” Lola barked at Nick with the warning that came out partially watery and partially playful. She cleared her throat and continued, “He was screaming and the girl… she pulled out a gun and started shouting at the other one. It was like they knew each other. The other grabbed the gun and pulled the trigger. Mae was in the way and…”

“Okay,” Nick said when he realized that Lola was going to cry. “So they knew each other. What about Gerald? Did he come in when they fighting?”

Lola thought about it some more and said, “Yes. He came in. Mae always leaves the front unlocked. He asked if everything was all right. The hooded man fired at Gerald but Lucy’s book got in the way. Gerald tripped trying to get out but was caught and he struggled. Gerald was hit with the gun I think. I heard him grunt. He must have gotten away but then there was another shot.”

Nick could visually see it as Lola was giving him the story. Some of it was making some sense now. There would have to be discussions on the timeline of events but it looked like Lola Burke’s account was very informative. “So you didn’t see if he hit Gerald or anyone else?”

“No. But he came back in and the girl started screaming at him. He shouted back at her and she shouted back.”

“Okay, Lola. You gave me what happened. Now while they were arguing, didn’t anyone try to get out of there or even try to defend themselves?” Nick studied the look on Lola’s face. It appeared she wasn’t sure how to answer that. “I mean Dana Turner is an Army reservist. She would know how to disarm somebody.”

“Dana is a mother, young man.”

“I know but when you’re trained and even if you go back to a civilian life, that kind of thing doesn’t go away,” Nick pointed out. “Was there difficulty or something getting out?”

Lola looked at Nick. The tears were gone now and in place was a hard mask. It would have been intimidating for someone not used to hard ass interrogations. She said in a firm voice, “We all have families young man and we would defend them but knowing when to fight or to run… you go with what is best. Besides you’ve been in the room. There was only one way in and we would have been seen and cut off and someone nailed the door shut. Now if you have any other questions, I think I am finished.”

Nick watched as Lola folded her arms. Normally he would have thanked the witness and let them go and told them to stay in town and the usual spiel. Instead he replied, “I understand that. We are just trying to make sense of what happened and the only thing aside from the physical evidence we collect is what you can tell us; what you say, anything that might help.”

“We didn’t escape because we were told that if we tried, all of us would die like the posers we were,” Lola replied after scrutinizing Nick for a moment. “Have you ever been in a hostage situation young man?” She watched as Nick blinked his response before continuing, “It is enough for anyone to do as they are told.”

Nick could relate to that. Even though it had been nearly a year since he had a gun held to his face, he didn’t forget it. He remembered how it felt, that sense of vulnerability. The saying getting caught with your pants down was funny in most respects but it was almost literal in the sense that he never saw it coming and he almost had his life flash before his eyes. Since then he tried not to think about it but occasionally it did creep up. He could understand where Lola was coming from.

Looking at Lola he nodded, “I understand Lola and you gave us a good start. Thank you.”

“No thank you young man. The neighborhood may not look like much but it’s home and the people look out for one another. We are like a big family,” Lola replied.

Nick nodded and indicated that she was free to go and if they had any more questions, they would contact her. There was one more lady to talk to and it was Lucy Freemont, 30, and is a cashier at the Tropicana. She was the one whose book stopped the first shot but not the second shot that killed Gerald Butler. The interview wasn’t going to take too long since she seemed to be one more inclined to space out. He had noticed that when he was doing his perimeter walkthrough and the unis were trying to make sense with the initial statements.

He was right in that it didn’t take too long to ask Lucy Freemont what she knew. As it turned out she tended to space out a bit but he did get out some important pieces that were helpful but not much. He was waiting outside as Sara finished with Dana Turner. Once the woman left, he asked, “What do you think?”

“I think we need to write it out,” Sara replied. “According to what I got, the suspect hit them and called them posers.”

“I got that too. Lola though said that there was a girl reenacting a scene for them,” Nick added.

“So there were two other people in that house,” Sara declared as she looked at Nick while they were walking down the hall.

“And two weapons, one which we have and we haven’t even interviewed the kids that were friends with Gerald.”

“But what gets me is that the guy called them posers and they were critiquing crime novels.” It had been a sticking point for Sara since it didn’t make sense. “Unless he was thinking that they thought they were real detectives or something.”

“I think we should leave the profiling to Parker,” Nick countered with a slight grin. “With our luck, whatever she found will just fill in another hole we’ve had since we started.”

****

“You know I don’t think Grissom’s going to reimburse you for those.” Greg gave a kind of sleepy expression as he said it.

Sage looked at the pile of books that she had stacked on the conference room table. There weren’t a whole lot but it was a start. At the moment she was looking at _Murder at Ravenhearst_ and _Coyote’s Run_. She replied, “Oh I’ll find some use for them when I’m finished. It’s not like there is a shortage of people who read these… myself included.”

Greg grinned a bit. “You know considering the stuff we’ve gotten into since you came here, I never would have once pegged you to be into crime/mystery novels.”

“Well we all got to have our quirks, Greggo,” Sage replied as she read through _Coyote’s Run_. Her finger held her place and she ran through the pages. She turned the page in less than a second.

“Whoa. Do you even know what you’re reading?”

“I read this before I came out here. I know the general plot. I am just trying to find the exact… spot. There.” Sage found the page she had been looking for and tapped it. She began writing a few notes and then picked up the evidence bag of the worry dolls and looked at them.

“I take it you found something.”

“Just something that might help make sense of a few things. How’s my swab from the gun?” Sage looked up and adjusted her glasses. She gave a knowing smile at Greg.

“Well just so you know trying to separate four blood sampled is never easy,” Greg replied trying to be a bit sarcastic about it. “But you would know about that anyway. It’s kind of like reorganizing the lab refrigerators.” He looked at Sage with a pointed look mingled in with a teasing smile.

“I say kudos to the one who decided to organize. Looks like the other techs caught on,” Sage replied as she went back to making notations. She picked up _Ravenhearst_ and opened it and looked for the spot where the book club was going to discuss.

“Come on Sage. You and I both know that you did that.”

Sage looked at Greg through her glasses. They were better now that she had put eye drops in them. It looked like she was getting a case of dry eye. She would just have to keep an eye on it so it didn’t get worse. She raised her brow and asked, “Do you have any evidence to support your conclusion?”

“Aside from the fact that I know you?”

Sage nodded expectantly at Greg. She knew about his desire to get into the field. It was no secret that he tried to help out on cases. She had heard about the scuba diving thing and then his knowledge on liquid latex. The others always gave him a strange look at the depth of his knowledge but in her view, knowledge truly was power. The more they knew about something, even if appeared random, in the long run it eventually helped.

Greg looked at Sage as she stared at him. It was no wonder there was the rumor that she and Grissom might be twins in some of the things that they did. He knew better or at least he thought he did since he spent time outside of work hanging out with her though lately it seemed that she was not too much into doing stuff. They still had their Sanders-Parker night once a week but the spontaneous stuff at the end of the day, it had lessened a bit. It was no big deal on his end and only hinted that she found something she was interested in outside of work.

At this point thought an answer was expected of Greg and the look she was giving him was strongly hinting that maybe she might not have messed with Grissom’s experiments especially since she was asking for evidence. He stammered slightly, “Um… none?”

“Then I suggest you find proof before making assumptions,” Sage replied with a gentle smile. “It is unavoidable to make assumptions; we do it all the time. The trick is to just remember that if you want to prove something…”

“You got to back it up,” Greg finished. “This is one of your CSI encouragement things isn’t it?”

“Well you are interested in going out in the field aren’t you?”

“I thought about it.” Greg tried not to let it be too obvious. He was interested in the job the CSIs had out in the field. “I mean going out to a scene and… and I did help Nick with the scuba tank.”

Sage pursed her lips in a telling smile as she went back to reading. “Baby steps Greggo and plenty of practice in reasoning and deduction.” She looked up and added, “I may know something about the experiments being moved from the community fridge to the lab fridges.”

Greg grinned like a little school boy. “Okay so I guess we’ll have to wait and see if the bandit strikes again.”

“Well it’s not always to have a serial since it is another crime and another innocent victim is affected,” Sage replied in part seriousness. She didn’t mean to be a wet blanket about things but this was a learning experience for Greg if he was serious about getting into the field. “Of course repeat pranks are just as fun.”

“As long as you don’t get caught right?”

“That and it could be considered an attempt at teaching a lesson… like one that might happen to DNA if the results aren’t being monitored for.” Sage gave a mischievous glance at Greg. She wasn’t really going to do anything but the threat of it was always fun to allude to and she did show that she could do something but she wasn’t copping to it.

Greg raised his hands in surrender, “Alright, alright. I get it. Back to the grindstone and make way for baggy eyes.”

“Don’t be a drama princess,” Sage replied, “We all get those and we don’t complain.” She was actually chuckling as Greg was giving her a look. “Don’t tell me you need a hug now.”

Greg narrowed his eyes playfully. “You are evil, Sage.” He pointed a warning finger at her. “I’ll go back to my dungeon since what I do there is obviously so important to you.” He left the room but poked his head back in. “By the way, you got a boyfriend or something?”

“What?”

“Well you don’t hang out much like we used to but we still have our night. You don’t bother to collect on Nick’s debts and you rain check…”

“And that would be in the realm of none of your business.”

“Whoa and a defensive wall like Sara.” Greg made a face and turned around to head back to his lab. “No wonder you two get along so well.”

Sage frowned in puzzlement at that comment but it saved from having to explain herself. She went back to reading through the two books and making notes. She ran her fingers along the page and searched what she was looking for.

In the meantime Greg went back to his lab to work on the samples. He knew that Sage wasn’t upset with him but it still was a bit unusual. Like everyone else, he was curious about what was going on. She seemed happy and yet a bit uncertain about a few things. She didn’t talk to him but figured she would have talked to at least someone.

It was no big deal in the end since she would tell if and when she was ready. As it were they all had their work to do. He had some swabs to run from the gun and he also had the earring collected. Time to make some money. He clapped his hands together and started on his work. He reached over and turned on his CD player to play some Black Flag and loosen things up while remembering to turn it down so it wouldn’t cause too much ruckus.

****

“I got a question for you: why do you always work yourself to the bone?”

Sage looked up from her lunch and glanced at Brass while the detective was chewing on the piece of chicken he was eating. She finished the bite of the chicken salad she had ordered and replied, “I’m a workaholic Jim. Plus I’m working a case just like you.”

Brass gave a slight chuckle. “Yeah and it seems that I may have something for you.”

“So that is why you offered to buy me lunch? Bribery? Now that is a serious offense Captain Brass,” Sage replied with a smile as she deliberately stressed her accent.

“It’s not bribery when it’s a lunch between two colleagues in the law enforcement profession,” Brass countered with a slight smile. He took another bite of his chicken.

“Ah so it is a collaboration between beating shoe leather and science.” Sage raised her finger as if in an ah-ha moment. She couldn’t help but chuckle at that as she reached for her glass of water. “So what have ya got on our case?”

Brass was chuckling along with Sage and paused to reply, “Well aside from your crew questioning the ladies, I checked on the property itself.” He fished out some paper from the inside of his jacket. “According to the property records, the house was partially owned by Rita Mae Whittenbower. The other owner was Ellen Sue Taylor.”

“Any relation?” Sage took the proffered sheet and examined the property.

“Yeah. Miss Taylor is actually the younger sister of Rita Mae Taylor. The house belonged to their parents before they died in a car accident. They died and the house went to both.”

Sage chewed on a piece of grilled chicken as she scanned the document. “Any known disputes?”

“Nothing on record and if I were to suggest that it’s possible that maybe Ellen Sue got tired of the family home being a gathering place for ladies who like to play detective…” Brass made a gesture with his hands.

“I’d ask where’s your evidence,” Sage replied as she finished reading. “Is there any to support that?”

“I’m still looking into that. I even started looking out for the sister. You never know.” Brass picked up the cup of coffee that he ordered and took a sip. It was a vast contrast to the salad and water Sage ordered.

“Oh so now you’re thinking a hit?” Sage chuckled at that. She speared another bunch of greens and put them in her mouth. “Cause from what Nick and Sara reported, the main suspect called the women posers. So it might be thin but at this point we need something like a really good description of the suspect.”

“What about the interviews with the ladies of the book club? Surely you have something to work with?”

Sage couldn’t help but snicker as she drank her water. “You know the thing about eyewitnesses Jim. You could have twenty people see the same event and they all have something different to say. It’s about perception and oftentimes they don’t always agree. Still we’re looking into everything. There were a few consistent descriptions. I can say for certain that I’m actually glad that these ladies were so into crime novels. They were observant.”

Brass nodded a bit. He did have to admit that the ladies within the group were pretty observant. They gave more details than most witnesses could give given the circumstances. “Well the kids weren’t too good but they did give good witnesses accounts about Gerald Butler getting hit after being chased. Other than that, the show is on you Parker.”

“And in Vegas lights.” Sage sighed as she toyed with the last of her salad. “Still like reminding me I drew the short straw huh?”

“Would it make you feel better if I said that I requested from Grissom that you be the one to take point on this one?”

“Not really Jim,” Sage replied laughing, “But I do have to say that the fringe benefit is lunch on the captain.”

Brass laughed with her. He fished out his wallet. “You know I hate eating with you CSIs. You never miss a thing.” He smiled as he said it since he didn’t mean it. Even though he was a cop and sometimes they didn’t see eye to eye on things, he respected their ability to find the evidence and eventually solve the case.

Sage pulled out her wallet and started pulling out cash. “Aww you love us Jim. Where would you be if you didn’t have us to tell you that we follow the evidence? Well at least having Grissom remind you every other case.”

Brass waved for Sage to put away her wallet. “I got it Parker. I meant what I said that lunch was on me.”

Sage was going to be insistent on paying for her lunch but stopped. She put her wallet back into her pocket. “Don’t make it a habit. It’ll make me feel bad.”

“We wouldn’t want that now,” Brass replied as he put the cash down for the bill. He watched as Sage took a sip of her water. “So how are things going Parker?”

“It’s the job, Jim. Do what I can,” Sage replied. She put her hands on the table and folded her hands together. She tapped her fingers gently on the table. “Of course you like others are curious as to why I stopped my wild nights for a time.”

“You got me. I’m curious… the whole department is curious.”

“Well I might tell ya,” Sage replied, “but only because I respect ya. That and you are a good man.”

“Alright. Hit me.”

Sage was about to go into details but her phone rang. She answered it, “Parker.” The voice at the other end had her eyes widen slightly. She barely registered Brass’ phone ringing as she heard the voice at the other end. She caught Brass’ eye and nodded, “Yeah. We’ll be there.”


	5. Chapter 5

The girl was lying in a pool of blood. Her lifeless eyes were staring up into the night sky. The light bulb of the camera flashed a couple of times taking in her position and the surrounding scene. Nick lowered his camera and gave a slight shake of his head as he took in the sight. And it was a familiar one except there was only one.

“Neighbor was getting up for a nightcap when he heard noises and then a gunshot. Came out, found her and called 9-1-1.”

Nick turned to look at the newest detective, Hector Aguilar. He just qualified and was barely three weeks out of uniform and drew Homicide’s night shift under Brass. A greenie but a pretty good cop. He knew how to secure a scene without compromising the evidence and had respect for the CSIs. Nick had the pleasure of him being the uni on duty when he was processing the scene a couple of times. “Did he see anything?”

“Guy said he saw a dark hooded guy leaping over the fence but he was more concerned about her.” Hector motioned towards the body. He was no stranger to crime scenes but it was always was not a pretty sight.

Nick made a slight sound and asked David, “Anything?”

“Wallet in her jeans,” David replied holding it out to Nick for inspection. “Jean Alcott, 29.”

Nick took the wallet and inspected the contents. He found that all the lady’s cards were in the wallet as well as cash. “Well the guy didn’t take the cards or cash. We can rule out robbery.” He checked some more and pulled out a card.

It was a chapter membership card to the Homicide Society. It listed her name and ranking within the chapter as well as the chapter house. It had Nick wondering if she was with the same chapter as the other victims. As were though, he wasn’t sure whether or not this was a coincidence. Then again there was no such thing in their line of work. Hell Grissom practically preached against it. He studied the body and asked, “You got a TOD?”

“Taking into account the temperature, TOD is estimated to be around 11pm,” David replied as he looked up at Nick. He pulled the thermometer out and rolled the body over. “Looks like a 9mil but a through and through.”

Nick was thinking about the TOD. Three hours after the multiple and they were finding her now roughly seven hours later? And the vic also was a member of the Homicide Society. Were they looking at a serial or a hit?

At that moment Sage arrived on the scene with Brass. She blinked wearily at the body that Nick was processing and then over at the detective that secured the scene. “So what are we looking at?”

Hector acknowledged Brass and gave a short meaningful one at Sage and gave what he knew about the scene, repeating pretty much what he told Nick. In the meantime Sage walked through the backyard of the house looking around. She found scuffing on the wooden fence and a partial tread as she shone her Mag Lite around. In her mind’s eye, she visualized the assailant leaping over the fence.

Curious, she walked to the gate that led to the alleyway and opened it with a gloved finger. Peering around, she looked up and down for any sign of evidence. The assailant was long gone but there was still whatever they could find.

“The assailant was seen leaping over the fence but no accounting for the direction,” Hector’s voice sounded softly.

“Well that doesn’t mean that he didn’t leave something behind,” Sage replied as she shone her light near where the killer would have landed. She kneeled to get a closer look. She gave a slight smile as she reached for a pair of tweezers.

Hector kneeled to see what she was looking at. “I take it that it’s been a rough night.”

“Not really,” Sage replied with a slight smile as she picked up what appeared to be a shell casing with blood on it. “Just a little puzzling.”

“Well I heard that you had a multiple with vics from the same book club. Is it a coincidence?”

“No such thing,” Sage replied as she bagged the casing. _More fun for Bobby_ , she mused as she continued to look. “Things are connected when it comes to a scene and it follows the holy trinity of crime scene investigation.” She leaned over and found a bloody knife. She called out, “Nick, are there any other wounds on the vic besides the gunshot wound?”

“No,” Nick’s voice came from the other side.

“That significant?” Hector knew it was a bit of a dumb question but…

“Maybe,” Sage replied as she took reference photos. She didn’t immediately pick it up but shone her light on the fence. She could make out blood drops. “Maybe our killer got more than what he expected from his victim.” She took pictures of the drops.

Hector studied the blood drops and where they were on the scene. He nodded, “I’ll call the local hospitals to see if someone was admitted for a knife or puncture injury.” He stood up to make the call but paused. He looked at Sage and asked, “You still want to go out for breakfast?”

“Might be a late one,” Sage replied. She paused and looked up at Hector and gave a smile. “But it’s still breakfast.”

Hector gave a slight smile and said something in Spanish and went to go make the call. Sage blushed slightly since she knew what he said. He told her the first time they met and they had an interesting conversation. She liked the detective and had enjoyed a couple of dates with him to various locales that didn’t include Frank’s Diner.

Going back to work, she processed the area and bagged and tagged the knife. She went back to study the shoe print and went about taking pictures. There was barely enough to get a go reading for type and size but they would cross that bridge when they came to it.

The alleyway was a treasure trove of junk and other things so it was a matter of finding what they needed for the case. The one thing that seemed to generate enough interest was the blood drops. They made a trail and she followed it, making sure to mark each set and she took her camera and took pictures. It made a trail all the way down the alley towards the street.

The drops were consistent with walking in a hurt way. Directionality was consistent which told Sage that he was mobile and the volume suggested that it wasn’t fatal but trouble and could be if not taken care of. Breathing in the night air, she looked around since the trail seemed to end. She couldn’t see if there was any indication of a vehicle or something.

Suddenly a low moan sounded. Sage turned and looked around. At the same time, she pulled her gun and held it up in the ready position. She glanced down the alley to find Hector on the phone and Nick was still in the victim’s backyard. That was when she heard the moan and a faint voice saying, “Help me.”

“Help me.”

Sage followed the voice but didn’t lower her gun. She used her left to hold her light and her right to point her gun. She shone the light and held her body in the posture necessary to make the movements to spring into a defensive-offensive. It was a bit awkward since her camera was around her neck but she made it work.

The moaning continued until her light shone upon and young man in a hoodie, a dark hoodie. Sage wasn’t sure they had their suspect but she could see that he was holding his stomach and there was crimson on his hands. He looked at her with pitiful eyes and begged, “Help me. It hurts.”

“It’s okay,” Sage replied, letting her drawl turn into soothing tones. She checked to make sure that there were no weapons in sight. She didn’t want to risk the possibility of being attacked. There was that old saying about wounded animals.

Seeing that there was no weapon, she checked the wound. It was a stomach wound and a bad one. She called out, “Aguilar, I need a bus.” She then diverted her attention to the wounded man and took to inspecting it. “It’s going to be okay.”

The guy was starting to cry. “It hurts. I never have been stabbed before.”

“Well most people haven’t before either. You’re gonna be okay.” Sage looked around and was joined by Hector. She looked at him, “The bus coming.”

“They’re on their way.”

“Oh God I’m bleeding.” The guy was freaking out at the sight of the blood.

Sage rolled her eyes slightly. She held up her light to look at the guy, particularly the eyes. She was not an MD but she could recognize the signs of a guy that was on drugs. She opened his eyes and sat back on her heels, “Looks like our guy is on something.”

“Look I ain’t on nothing. I got a hole in my stomach.” The guy was getting upset and was moaning about the pain he was in. “I’m in pain. Where’s the damn ambulance.”

Hector narrowed his eyes at the guy, “Relax. It’s on its way.”

“Well it better damn hurry up.” The guy moved and more blood started gushing out. He then started freaking out. “Oh God! Oh God. What the hell? I’m gonna die. I’m gonna fucking die!” He clutched at his stomach.

Sage saw the sudden gush of blood and quickly pulled off her jacket. It was better than nothing and she put it on the wound and applied pressure. In the meantime Hector got on the horn and relayed the need for emergency services to hurry. All the while Sage was telling the guy to shut up and apply the pressure to the wound. She looked and saw Nick looking over the fence and down her way. This was one ‘exciting’ filled shift.

****

Sara looked inside the house that belonged to Jean Alcott. It was one of those duplex places. She had the top floor with the back entrance. The owner of the apartment below was gone on vacation to Lake Mead. So the audio witness came from the other side of the fence.

The place was neat and tidy and it looked lived in. There was nothing out of place as she looked around. The furniture was cheap but neat. That was pretty much the look of the whole place. The only area that looked different was the curio bookcase in the living room with the small desk. Sara made a beeline for it.

The bookcase had a whole bunch of books, all of them crime novels. That made it consistent with the membership card that Nick had found. First blush told Sara that this DB was related to their other scene and a possible serial. That would just make their case a trip down OT and a possible chewing out by the sheriff.

Sara snapped pictures of everything in the living room. She hadn’t found anything significant yet except for the bookcase and the desk. Once she had taken her pictures, she took a closer look at the books that were on the shelf. She wondered if there was something missing like there was at the Whittenbower house.

Looking closer, Sara could make out the same meticulous ordering of the novels by the titles. They were organized by the singles and the series that were in print. Right away Sara looked for _DC Homicide_ and found the whole series there. She also found a copy of _Jamaica Heat_ with the series and raised a brow at that. It seemed that Greg wasn’t the only person in Vegas to have a rare printing of a book.

Sara finally found something that was out of place. Looking at the case, she could tell that it hadn’t been dusted recently and the sudden clearing of dust indicated that it had been taken. It was in the singles section so that would take some time to ID the book that was taken. She snapped the pictures of the void to show what was missing. It seemed that whoever killed Jean Alcott and the four others had sticky fingers.

Sara went around the rest of the place. She paused when she came across something. She frowned as she kneeled to take a look at it. She was careful to not disturb the area around it since it seemed to have been carefully placed.

It was a plush animal and it appeared to be holding a book and not just any book but a crime novel book. Sara was wondering if things were getting a little bit strange but then again this was Vegas. The town thrived on the strange and unusual. She sat back on her heels and observed the book along with the plush animal.

“Hey, you doing okay in here,” Nick’s voice entered as he walked into the apartment.

“Yeah and I think I found something.”

Nick was looking around the house. He had noticed the same things as Sara did about the place being neat and tidy. In fact the only things that had a place of honor were the bookcase and the desk. They didn’t quite fit with the room. “Really?”

“Yeah. Book missing like the other scene and this,” Sara replied motioning towards the plush. She finally lifted her camera and took a picture. She took one for reference in the general area and then a couple of close ups.

Nick peeked over Sara’s shoulder and noted the plush and book. It was propped and he could tell that it had been deliberately set up. He peered at the book. “Is that…?”

Sara finally picked up the plush and found that the book was attached to it. “ _DC Homicide: Child’s Play_. It’s an old and used copy but it doesn’t belong to the victim. The same book in a better condition was on the bookcase.”

“Huh,” Nick commented as he confirmed it. “Wonder what it has to do with the tiny doll I found on the body?”

While he was finishing up with the body, he noticed the tiny doll that had been planted on her person. He had to hold it up in his tweezers to get a good look at it. It looked cheaply made but there was some detail on it. He had bagged it when Sage called for an ambulance.

Sara carefully bagged the plush and the book. She wanted to examine it closely in the lab. There was a possibility that she might find other bits of trace in it and just the look of it bothered her. She now could understand why Sage said that there was something familiar about the scene at the Whittenbower house but she couldn’t place it. The plush with the book was unnerving. She answered Nick’s question, “Probably quite a bit. I think Parker found something similar at the Whittenbower house.”

“This is looking like they are connected.”

“When was it your first guess?” Sara looked up to grin at Nick.

Nick narrowed his eyes in a slight grin since Sara was poking fun at him. “Very funny. I’ll take the bedroom if that’s okay?”

“That’s fine. Where’s Parker?”

“Right here. Seems like our suspect is a dead suspect for this site,” Sage replied as she came it. “Knife wound to the stomach and bled out and possibly high as a kite.” She sighed as she looked around the apartment and ambled towards the kitchen with her light out.

“Well that’s just great,” Sara replied as she finished bagging and tagging the plush. “We don’t even know if he was involved with the Whittenbower residence.”

“We still have our evidence and one suspect out there,” Sage reminded Sara. “The girl who was reenacting… I read your guys’ notes… and the fact that we are still missing a gun. Now that’s a challenge that I think Sara Sidle would be interesting to take on.” She gave a slight grin in Sara’s direction that was teasing.

Sara couldn’t help but smile back. “Oh I’m for the challenge Parker. The question is whether or not you are.”

“I can take it… like I’ll take the kitchen and you finish here,” Sage grinned back. “Maybe we can finish before Stokes finishes the bedroom.” She deliberately raised her voice so Nick could hear.

Sara gave a nod and couldn’t help but grin when Nick called, “You’re on Parker.”

Nick didn’t hear a response from the women but he knew it was on. He couldn’t help but grin. It was like it was normal with the competition in finishing. He knew that he and Sara could always have a good competition and the same went for Sage but… He shook his head knowing that Sara had put some strange thoughts in his head about their relationship.

He went to the bedroom and shone his light, looking around for anything that might help with the case. At first blush there was nothing that would be distinguishing in regards to the case. When he got to the dresser, he noticed a plush animal. It was facing towards the wall and not with the other plush animals on the bed.

“Looks like our girl was into cute stuff,” he murmured as he looked at the dresser. He didn’t touch the plush but it was low enough for him to peer over and take a look and he flashed his light. “What the…”

The plush had something attached to it. Nick couldn’t quite see what it was. He didn’t want to move it just yet so he reached for his camera and took a picture. He took a couple for reference for later. It was then that he heard a noise.

Nick narrowed his eyes as he looked around. He heard it again in the closet and slowly pulled out his gun. He pointed it at the closet and opened it slowly and flashed his light in. He started to kneel when something jumped out at him and he gave a shout of surprise. It was followed by a sharp pain on his forearm and a growling and then by the crash of footsteps.

****

“Well this certainly brightened the night up a bit.”

“And I’m glad that you’re happy Parker,” Nick said as the EMT finished cleaning the wound. His lip twitched from the sting of the antiseptic. His words had no bite to them though since she was sorry that he had gotten bit.

“I guess this lets you off the hook with your processing rate,” Sage replied, not at all perturbed by the word choice Nick used. She offered to put the gauze on and the EMT obliged and handed it to her after she gloved up.

Nick raised his brow as he watched Sage put the gauze on. It was a pretty deep bite from the Irish Jack Russell setter/terrier that had been hiding in the closet. He had startled it and it just defended itself. He hadn’t even heard the warning growls and those little dogs were pretty good noisemakers. He replied, “I can still process.”

“Sure you can,” Sage replied in a teasing tone. She finished with the gauze and motioned that he could roll down his sleeve. “After all you just were attacked by a massive beast that yips.” She gave a slight wink and started chuckling.

Nick rolled his sleeve down and gave a slight eye roll and looked at Sage. At the look on her face he couldn’t help with the grin. “Fine, make fun of me but I can finish the scene.”

Sage took a step back and gave a slight smile. Nick was trying to be a tough guy but it was evident that the bite hurt. It punctured the skin and it was a bleeder but no stitches were needed. She liked the fact that Nick was trying to be a tough guy and walk it off and finish what he started. He certainly showed it when they had their competitions. Giving a slight shake she replied, “I know you can but you know…”

“Hey,” Nick interrupted as they walked back to the house, “Don’t be going into that now.”

Sage raised her brow as they continued walking, “Don’t you be bossing me now Stokes. My case now.”

“Says the girl that insisted on finishing with a bum knee,” Nick countered.

“Well there was the consideration that said girl thought her partner was an ass even after she apologized for it,” Sage replied with no malice in her words.

“Not like you made it easier,” Nick said, his features contorting to a slight grin. “You left me in autopsy while you chased your French lead.”

“But you were a big boy Stokes,” Sage replied smiling, “Besides I thought you weren’t an ass in the end but a good partner.” She paused a moment to clear her throat. “I’ll Let you finish but call it a night when the shift ends. No TO.”

“What are you my mother now?”

“Lead CSI,” Sage countered. “Besides I can’t have you getting a gimpy arm when I need you for heavy lifting.” She gave a saucy grin but it was mingled with a firm expression to indicate that she meant it.

Nick saw it and was rather surprised. She was usually good natured even when she relayed her requests to the techs and they fell in line. This was a new expression and it had Nick puzzled. He still kept up the cheerful bantering, saying, “This arm has never been gimpy, not once.” He moved it to show her.

“I believe ya. But I am serious. Rest the injury at end of shift and if I catch you…” She left it hanging in the air with a teasing and raised brow. She wasn’t going to do anything but she was concerned about the bite.

Nick raised his hands in mock surrender, “I get it. Damn even with seniority you manage to take me down a peg.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Sage replied softly with a smile. “Go ahead and finish the bedroom and Sara will wrap up.”

“And you go with the mutt.”

“Let’s just say that maybe he has something that might help this case.” Sage made a slight face at that. She cleared her throat again as she shuffled on her feet. “You sure you’re going to be okay?” She motioned at his arm.

“Yeah,” Nick replied in a soft tone. Normally he would have brushed someone off and said he was fine and leave it at that. It was different with Sage though. While she could handle terseness like anybody, he just couldn’t with her. “I’m good Parker.”

“Good,” Sage replied in a matter of fact tone. Her eyes were starting to water again. The dry eye was terrible. “Finish Jean Alcott’s bedroom and hook up with Sara, get it back to the lab. I’ll go back with the bodies and go from there. End of shift…”

“I know, I know… clock out,” Nick replied still doing the mock surrender. “I’ll be home in time for curfew Mom.” He grinned as he started to go back into the house. “Good luck with Cujo.”

Sage chuckled and shook her head. “Keep going at it… son. Scat.” She put her hands on her hips and sighed after Nick turned to go back into the house. She turned to see David loading up the body and started walking towards the van.


	6. Chapter 6

Sage came out of autopsy giving a sigh. She put her hands into her lab coat pockets and strolled down the hall to get back to the lab. Their latest two victims was like a stroll down memory lane, well at least with Jean Alcott.

Doc Robbins had given her the rundown on the girl. She had been pistol whipped like the three other ladies and a shot close range to the chest. Like the others, there was stippling and the pistol whipping was perimortem. Unlike the others though, there were some signs of struggle. The perimortem bruising on the wrists told that story; like someone had grabbed her by the wrists and held on tight.

The girl’s clothing and hair and blood swabs were sent to their respective places in the lab. Robbins also found something in her pocket. It was covered with blood but it was a document of sorts. That was sent to QD to determine what it was. It left Sage with the feeling that this case was going down a road that was disturbing and she couldn’t shake the feeling that she knew the scenes well from somewhere.

The second vic, the knife vic, was a street junkie called Hefty. Sage wasn’t going to figure that one out since the guy was a slight build. COD was exsanguination due to the knife wound. Blood was swabbed to confirm a match to the blood on the knife. There was also blood on the hoodie and Hefty had a fat lip. In his pants pocket he had a wallet with an address on the ID… surprising since he was known on the streets.

Samples were collected and sent to tox on both victims just in case though first blush indicated that Hefty was on some sort of drug. There was also a distinct similarity between Hefty and Jean. She wasn’t sure what that meant so she called down to Greg and asked for a comparison between the two based on a hunch. Greg responded with enthusiasm.

So now Sage was strolling through with the notes Doc Robbins had ready under her arm and her hands were in her lab coat pocket. She frowned as she ran through the evidence that they had collected, the notes that had been glanced at and the walkthroughs of both scenes, not really seeing the people she walked by but she was noticed since she was rather strolling rather than walking.

She paused by Bobby’s lab when he called out, “Sparks, I got something that you might wanna take a look at.”

Ambling in, she replied, “What do ya have for me Bobby? Ready to impress me?” She gave a slight smile as she paused by his scope.

“Well I don’t know if it would help or not but I’m willing to give it a shot.” Bobby grinned back at Sage as he motioned towards the scope. “Now I ran the bullet from your latest victim and it didn’t match the gun that was recovered but it did match the bullets recovered from the three ladies.”

Sage had leaned over to peer into the scope with her hands still in her pockets and her arm holding the file of notes. She saw the matching striae and was frowning when she straightened up. “So that means that whoever killed the Whittenbower house ladies killed Jean Alcott and all four are members of the Homicide Society.”

“Thinking that maybe it was a hit?”

“I don’t know but it is looking like that,” Sage replied looking off into space as she mentally added the new piece of evidence.

“Did you recover a second gun from the other vic that was stabbed?”

“No but we did test for GSR but inconclusive. Blood everywhere.” Sage looked at Bobby and considered him for a moment. “Still you’ve impressed me. Tells me that the scenes are possibly linked. Thanks Bobby.” She gave Bobby a hug but her mind was on the case.

“Any time Sparks.” Bobby was smiling as he went back to his work with the other cases he was on.

Sage strolled out of ballistics and was going to go to the conference room when her phone rang. She checked it and found that it was the tech that handled the animals. Immediately she changed course and strolled down to where the tech was working with the Irish Jack terrier mix. She entered and said, “You rang?”

The tech looked at Sage and replied as she pet the dog with her gloved hands, “Thought that you might to see this.” She motioned for Sage to come on over. “Now I was checking Riley here and making note of his teeth and everything since he bit Nick and noticed this.”

The tech held out a small evidence jar that had something in it. Sage took it after gloving up and examined it. It held something that looked like something hard. It was whitish but it didn’t look anything like a tooth or something. “Looks like trace will have something to play with since it doesn’t look like teeth.”

“I was thinking that maybe Riley grabbed a hold of something and it broke off in his mouth. I found a slight laceration and probably was the reason he reacted the way he did.”

“Wounded animal,” Sage confirmed and nodded. She made a slight sound when Riley gave a slight whine and started nuzzling her hand.

“I think he likes you,” the tech said with a slight smile. “Also I noticed that there were fibers stuck to his fur. I collected them and sent them to trace. It looked like it came from clothing and it was black.”

“Well the suspect/vic we had a black hoodie on. Maybe Riley here bit him,” Sage conjectured.

“Any bite marks to compare to?”

“Nothing like that,” Sage replied shaking her head. The only major wound was the stab wound. Other wounds were needle marks and the like; all the signs of drug use. “It is possible that he could have been bitten but no actual bite marks right?”

“It’s possible given the dog’s pounds per square inch on its jaw. But he did bite Nick pretty hard.”

Sage looked at the dog that was giving her pitiful eyes. She said, “Don’t give me that. I know you’re sorry.” She rubbed the head and looked at the tech who was trying hard not to laugh. “Do you have your report all lined up so I can file for an accident on the job and all that hoopla?”

“Right here.” The tech stood up and went to get the paperwork. She kneeled back down and noticed something stuck in the fur. “Hey I found something.”

Sage looked while the tech held onto the dog. She saw that it was tangled in the dog’s fur and recognized it for what it was. “Is there a way to get it out without hurting the dog?”

It was badly tangled and the tech shook her head. “I have to cut the fur. Do you mind?”

Sage had little to say since she took the dog by its collar and held onto him. The dog moaned but she started petting it and muttering soothing sounds. Most of it sounded like it was jaded and she called the dog a mutt but didn’t really mean it as the tech snipped the fur carefully around the object that was caught and freed it.

“There.”

Sage was relieved to release the dog and took the evidence in its bag and looked at it. It was like the others and it seemed that their killer had a thing for crime novels. She rose to her feet and said, “Thank you.”

****

“Rough night?”

Sage looked up from her cup of hot tea and smiled, “No more than usual Hector.” She tried to stifle the yawn that threatened. “Excuse me.”

Hector took his seat in the booth and said, “No apologies necessary. I was expecting a late breakfast but I guess you managed to work some magic?”

Sage chuckled as she looked at the Cuban American detective. She had met him at Padre’s daughter’s quinceañera a while back. He was introduced as Padre’s godson but they had already known each other. The few times she had gone out on a scene he was the officer that had it secure and ready to give the report.

It was at the party they were able to talk without the job interfering on how much could be said. They had quite a bit to talk about and Sage thought him to be a nice guy. He was well spoken and spoke Spanish fluently. He was also a good dancer but then again he had Cuban in his blood and generally speaking they all knew how to dance.

They started going out and Sage had made some changes. She rain checked the debt collection she owed Nick, Warrick or Sara and they were cool about it since she made it up to them in other ways. Hector had taken her out to different places, mostly in the Hispanic quarters and they had a good time. For the first time, aside from her times with Greg, she felt at home in Vegas and not a stranger or guest people had to be polite to.

Of course Greg never saw her that way and made a point of it. She returned it in kind since the ‘crazy’ DNA lab tech held a soft spot in her heart. At first she thought that maybe he was trying to work up the courage to ask her out. He never went forward but they did grow close to each other and she would defend him. On occasion she reminded Grissom to take it easy on him.

Hector was different. She smiled at him and said, “Executive decision to have my guys clock out early though I doubt Sara will listen. For the most part though, told them to go home, get some rest and be ready to work.”

Hector welcomed the cup of coffee that the waitress poured for him and took a sip, black. “I thought you were on a year’s probation.”

“I am but they were shorthanded so I was left holding the bag,” Sage replied as she folded her menu. She usually ordered the same thing for breakfast when she went out after shift. “Doesn’t matter as long as it gets the attention it needs.” It was a bit of an awkward pause for a moment before she switched topics, “So… um were you able to get mother into the facility.”

It was more of a means of conversation but Sage felt it was like she was fishing. She hadn’t really meant to bring it up and she felt uncomfortable about it. She didn’t notice the way how Hector looked at her, trying to figure out why she was embarrassed all of a sudden. He replied, “I did. It’s a good one and the insurance is helping to pay for it. The family isn’t happy though… well most of them.”

At that moment, the waitress came to take their orders. Sage ordered her usual and listened as Hector ordered what could be considered an American breakfast complete with pancakes. When the waitress left, Sage replied, “Why? The place has the staff and equipment to take care of her.”

Hector made a knowing nod at that, “Well this la familia. They believe that what goes on in the family stays in the family. More or less they think that I abandoned that.”

“What does Padre say about it?”

It was rather an unspoken rule that Padre’s opinion mattered greatly. He was one of those that you went to for advice no matter what the problem. Even some of the older men asked his advice on things. Sage had asked the question knowing that whatever he said was respected. Hector knew that too and was impressed at the sensitivity she had for things like that. All the more reason to be attracted to her. He replied, “He said that a man must do the best he can in the circumstances he is given.”

Sage raised her brow at that. Usually Padre had more to say than that. She couldn’t help but ask, “That was it?”

Hector chuckled as he took a sip of his coffee, “You know Padre. First appease the die hards and then tell them how you really think.” He watched as the smile bloomed on Sage’s face. He could tell she got it and was also thinking that she had a pretty smile. “He also said that I did better than most sons these days. I made the effort to find somewhere that understood what Mama’s illness was and how to work with it.”

“I can only imagine. At least she is getting the care she needs.”

“It is little compared to what she has done for me my entire life.”

Sage smiled at that and drank some of her tea. Hector was one who was noble and humble about what he did. It fed into his integrity as a cop and Brass had recommended him when he went for his detective’s badge. It was hard since Hector’s mother had been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s and he had been having a hard time getting someone to stay and watch her while he worked to get the money to pay the bills and support them. He finally found a place that specialized in it and was able to get the funding needed and now his mother was being taken care of.

Hector smiled at Sage. He had the habit of rambling and when he met her at the quinceañera he told her about his mother. She was genuinely interested in the whole thing. He found her to be pleasant company and a very pretty woman. He danced with her a couple of times and was shy about asking her out. She agreed though and they had been going out for a time and each time he liked her a little more.

Smiling at her he changed the subject, “But enough about that. I’m sure you have better things to think about.”

Sage couldn’t help but chuckle as she stirred her oatmeal. “I’m always thinking about something but nothing better than the company I’m keeping now.”

“Nothing seems to get you down, Sage,” Hector replied. “Even when you seem beat, you always find a way to bounce back. It’s rather… surprising considering… and it’s a good thing.”

Sage couldn’t help but laugh. Hector had admitted that he was out of practice when it came to talking to women. She thought it was rather cute in a good way. “I guess it is.” She sobered slightly but still smiled. She took a bit of her oatmeal and savored the fruit she had mixed in with the milk. When the bite was gone, she added, “It’s why I stay on the job. I look for the good things that come as a result of the things that we see on the job. Dwelling on things tends to make life a bit dreary if you don’t let it go. It stays with you but you end up moving forward, you learn from it and the experience is one more piece of who you are.”

“Can I take that to the bank or my counselor?” Hector teased. He was chewing on a bit of pancake.

“Practical advice, Hector,” Sage replied.

Hector was about to say something when he got a call on his cell phone. He answered it and spoke to whoever it was. When he was finished he hung up the phone and said, “Um… Sage…”

“Call out?”

“Yeah.” Hector looked down. He felt bad for doing this. “I’m sorry…”

“Hey part of the job,” Sage assuaged as she reached across and gave a pat to Hector’s arm. “And they know that it’s the rookie that has to be on call, right?” She smiled to show that she wasn’t upset. “Besides you’ll make it up to me.”

Hector smiled at that, “Right. I promised dinner at my Tia Magdalena’s house. She’s already planned the menu.”

“I look forward to it.” Sage looked down and noticed that Hector had grasped her hand with his. Her hand looked dwarfed and delicate. She was always told she had delicate features. “You better go. I don’t want you in trouble.”

“Never when you’re around,” Hector replied giving a slight squeeze of her hand before releasing it. It had been subconscious when he reached for it but he was aware of it. “I’ll see you later. Maybe you might get inside your killer’s head and solve the case.”

“You’re talking magic,” Sage said laughing. She motioned for Hector to go. “Scat now.”

Hector was laughing with her as he pulled out the money and went to pay the bill. Sage watched him leave and give a slight shake of her head. Every time they went out, he always bought their meals. She once suggested going Dutch so as to save on his pocketbook but he was insistent and she never brought it up again. She understood where he was coming from and didn’t begrudge him that and she rather liked that. It was nice to be waited upon… so to speak… even for her and she was more independent minded.

Sage sat and finished her oatmeal, taking her time. She was just about finished and on her whatever cup of tea when someone slid into the booth across from her and just sat there. She kept her impromptu visitor waiting until she finished sipping her tea. When she was finished she teased, “You keep spying on me and I’m gonna start thinking that you have nothing better to do.”

“Well I came in for breakfast since my work mom said I needed to go home.”

Sage lowered her cup of tea and gave a slight smile, “And she’s glad that you followed orders.”

Nick chuckled as he accepted the cup of coffee that the waitress poured for him. “Well I know better than to tempt the wrath of the Southern hurricane. When she gives an order…” He gave a knowing look as he took a sip.

“Oh shut up,” Sage countered, her drawl becoming a little heavier with her slight indignation. “It’s only because it’s my case this time.”

“Not nervous now are ya?”

Sage looked at Nick and his grin. She playfully narrowed her eyes and replied, “When have you known me to be that?”

“I heard you get squeamish about anatomy when you start to think about it and you’ve been solo or under the lead CSI.”

“I see Warrick has been telling stories.” Sage wasn’t upset really. It was pretty funny because she was fascinated by the odds and ends in Grissom’s office especially the radiated pig. She crossed her hands. “I’m not nervous.”

Nick noted the telltale blush when he mentioned the story Warrick told him about checking out a vic’s testicles. It made him wish he had been there to see it but given the way how Warrick told it, he probably would have been laughing his head off. “Course not.”

“Don’t be a brown nose now. It’s unbecoming for any partner of mine.” She peered over the rim of her cup and smiled. “How’s the arm?”

“Good.” Sage had noticed the slight wince. It was still sore and she was sure that it would be for a time. “So I guess you don’t want to know the secret for dulling the aches on bites. And it’s better than one of Greggo’s recipes.”

Nick narrowed his eyes in a similar playful fashion. “Well to quote Brass, you always notice everything.”

“I’d say the same about you but then again he says that about all us CSIs,” Sage countered. She rested her chin on her hands with her elbows propped on the table. “So do you want to know the secret?”

“Somehow I get the feeling that is a loaded question.” Nick pretended to eye her suspiciously since that was how she often sprung something on him. “That’s good I think.”

“What? That you have a gut feeling or my honest sincerity is regarded with such suspicion.” Sage was trying hard not to laugh. “Must be the gut feeling but you know how Grissom feels about that. The evidence never lies; follow the evidence.”

“Do you remember everything that was ever said to you since you got here?”

“Stokes if you knew what I remembered of what happened in detail on my first day of first grade in California three weeks into a new year…” She left it hanging purposely while she finished her cup. She picked up the pot and found one cup left.

Nick was smiling and chuckling at her comment. It was one of the rare occasions that she revealed something of herself. It was telling but not revealing and always an effort to get it out though it did seem to come easy to Greg and that was a whole other story there. “I get it. And I’m not gonna argue that.”

Absently Nick rubbed his forearm. It was still a bit achy but it was the gauze that was just plain itchy. It was tempting to scratch be he resisted. It was easier to talk about other things and he found that it was a bit difficult since it seemed lately all they talked about was the case they were working on or throwing a suggestion when they were stuck on some point. It was just one other thing he had noticed since Sara mentioned that they seemed to not be getting along. He was determined to get to the bottom of it but he didn’t want to piss her off by prying to hard. So he picked something that was more recent, “So have you heard anything from Sister Margaret?”

Sage had been in thought about her current conversation with Nick. It sounded a bit stilted like they hadn’t been talking to each other for weeks aside from work. She had been trying to come up with something to talk about and he just happened to ask about Sister Margaret and the bowling nuns. She gave a slight smile and replied, “Why? Are you aiming for a rematch? Maybe you’ll win the buck fifty this time around?”

“Maybe,” Nick replied with a smile. “It was actually fun and I’d like to do it again sometime.”

“Not with that gimpy arm,” Sage replied being serious but teasing at the same time, “but that would be fun. Hey, do you think Sara and Warrick want in?”

“I don’t think the way you tricked me into bowling with nuns is gonna work.”

“Because it only works with you,” was uttered in a soft tone. Sage was studying her nails. “I was thinking more like a team bowling thing. I personally would like to see Catherine do it. If she can sling a ball as well as she can sling words then it’d be worth it.”

“Cath is pretty tough and you’ve seen it.”

“See, us CSIs notice everything.”

Nick could help but laugh and Sage joined in with him. She stayed a little longer before standing up and giving a slight stretch. She looked at the Texan and said, “Well I think we should run it by the others and pick a night.”

“I think you should.”

“Me what about you?”

Nick tried to play cute by holding up his injured arm. “I’m injured here. To go in you need to be at a hundred percent. I’m not… and it was your idea.”

“You’re in it with me and you just have a scratch.” Sage gave a gentle punch to Nick’s shoulder. It was less forceful than her usual but still he feigned mock injury. She added, “Only a scratch. Don’t be a baby.”

“Now you really wound me Parker,” Nick countered as he released his arm. “So we good?”

“Yeah. See ya next shift.”


	7. Chapter 7

The house was a bungalow and looked like one of those in the hood places. The paint was peeling off the wood and some of the siding was loose. The front lawn looked like a junkyard; the very epitome of what was described as trailer trash. Plus whatever neglect to the grass the owner gave was finished off by the merciless desert nature of Vegas.

Sage looked at the place, face devoid of expression. She had managed to catch a few hours of sleep when Brass called about Hefty’s residence. She was up and ready to go and had gone full speed to the address with field kits in tow. Hefty was her suspect, albeit a dead one, and they were short a murder weapon and another suspect so they had to approach with caution just in case someone was a little trigger happy.

“You sure you don’t want to go in?”

Sage narrowed her eyes as she looked up at Nick. Sara was back working prints and the other evidence they collected. “I’m not the reckless one. Charging in when there was a ‘ferocious’ beast still in the house.” She gave a slight smile while she surveyed the house being cleared.

“Damn straight, slick.”

“That’s a first. You usually call suspects that,” Sage countered, thoroughly amused by the turn the conversation was going. “I suppose you’ll need DNA and fingerprint exemplars?”

Nick looked at her and replied, “Alright open up and say ‘ah’ smartass.”

“I’d like to see you try and compel a court order for it,” Sage countered as she raised her brow with that challenging look in her eye.

“Don’t need one.”

“Then it will be excluded. No case.” Sage smiled sweetly up at the Texan.

“Oh I have other bits of evidence. Plain sight… public property…” Nick gave a charming smile that was the equivalent of Sage’s current one.

Sage feigned frustration, “Damn you got me on that one… for once.” She shot a wry grin just as Brass called for the all clear. She picked up her field kit and started forward with Nick keeping in step.

“I’ve gotten you plenty.”

“You know that business with that crazy old man you set on me with that 421A/416B doesn’t… doesn’t count.” Sage had waved her hand in a dismissal of the whole incident.

Nick started chuckling, trying hard not to turn it into a full blown laugh. He remembered that one well. The original call was for a 403, a prowler, which actually turned out to be a 406, burglary. The crazy old man that she was referring to was the witness who was homeless and in the middle of his tirade, the blanket that was his only covering came off and he did some weird dance and said something that had Sage blushing.

He paid for it later but it was worth it. In the end he couldn’t be faulted for it completely since he told her to check the perimeter. He made it up to her though by getting her a jar of cashew nut butter. It wasn’t peanut butter but she liked it all the same. She took it with a slight look that made her look hoity toity but it had a smile to it. Later she offered a midday meal but not at the usual place and it was pretty good.

Brass had given the all clear and Nick picked up his case along with Sage and they walked in. It was automatic for Nick to fish out his light since the lighting inside the bungalow was not the best. He could also say that it didn’t look the best nor smell the best. He gave a slight cough at the unmistakable smell of decomp. “Parker,” he said motioning while he put a hand up to his nose.

Sage smelled it too. It wasn’t noticeable from the front entrance but it was there. It grew stronger when they moved towards one of the rooms. She set her case on the floor and took out only her light and starting moving it around and walked in. She took left and Nick followed suit and took the right. They noted a lot of stuff on the floor and tried to tread carefully. They ended up meeting in the middle and that was where the scent was the strongest.

Sage kneeled and pulled out a pointer and sifted through what were once dirty clothes. Nick blinked and tried not to choke. He managed to say, “That certainly is ripe.”

Sage made a humming noise when she turned a shirt over and uncovered the source. She brought her free arm up to cover her nose as she looked at the remains of a cat. “I think kitty here lost her last life.”

Nick nodded in agreement, “I can see that.” He was making a face since the smell was stronger.

Sage knew the smell was getting to people. She noticed the uni starting to make a face and even Brass was betraying his thoughts though his posture was rigid. She adjusted her breathing to come out of her mouth rather than her nose since it made it less bad. She looked up at Nick and said, “Dramamine is in my kit near the opening.”

“What?”

“Looking a little green there,” Sage teased as she inspected the remains. The poor cat had been mutilated but as far as she could tell, it was from one weapon.

“I’m fine,” Nick asserted. “I’ll um… go look around.”

“You do that. You might get lucky and fine the second murder weapon,” Sage said with a smile and continued to poke around the cat’s remains. “Make sure you photograph everything.”

Nick gave her a look, said, “Yes Mom,” and went to look elsewhere. It was going to take a while and even if they got the remains out, the place still had other odors. It also meant that one shower wasn’t going to cut it.

Brass watched Nick leave, amused at the comment he gave and looked at Sage. She was setting up to take a picture of the remains. He didn’t really get how she could stand being that close to that smell. “What’s with him calling you mom?”

“Just a joke, Jim,” Sage replied as she adjusted her position. She was still crouched down but it was at an angle that was more suited to a gymnast stretching. She took a picture at the remains.

“Okay,” Brass replied. He wrinkled his nose and watched as she worked. “What’s with the pictures of the dead cat? They don’t seem to have any relation to the other crimes.”

Sage had finished her photos and set her camera aside. She had put on gloves and was preparing to poke around the remains. “Well, maybe not on the surface but a closer look tells me something took this cat out and it wasn’t a baseball bat.” She paused to look at Brass. “Generally speaking, mutilating animals is the beginning of a psychopath and it will escalate into violence towards humans.”

“So Hefty was on his way to killing people. Wait, he actually did.” Brass wasn’t trying to be a hard ass about it but he didn’t get why cat gut was interesting to Sage. It was like watching Grissom get fascinated over the decomp rate of a pig… like that one case where Grissom wrapped up the pig in the blanket.

“But Hefty is the kind that would kill for drugs. Animal mutilations imply that it’s a totally different way of thinking,” Sage replied as she dug around. With her finger tip, she touched something hard and gave a slight smile. She went to work with her tweezers. “Hefty was into drugs. Psychopaths typically are portrayed as crazy people but some develop very meticulous habits.” She pulled out what she was looking for, “And this cat was shot with 9mm.”

Brass raised a brow as he saw the goo covered bullet in the tweezers. “So the cat was shot. Big deal.”

“How many people shoot a cat in the head… execution style?” Sage looked at Brass as she bagged and tagged the bullet. The remains were going to have to be disposed of by sanitation. She started fanning out from the cat and looked around.

She wasn’t too far from the cat when she found something interesting. She shown her light to verify what it was and marked it. “Well more evidence that Hefty was involved with the Homicide Society scene. Worry dolls and the makings for them.”

Brass made a surprised look. It seemed that there was enough evidence to point to Hefty being the one that pulled the trigger but he knew better than to jump to the conclusions before the evidence was processed. “Looking more and more like Hefty was your man?”

“We have evidence that suggests multiple assailants and at the least two guns,” Sage replied with a look.

“Well I think I can help with that,” Nick said coming back in. He was holding a 9mm Glock. “Found this in what more likely would be Hefty’s room. Might match the bullets from our vics.” He looked at Sage who had come over to look.

“What are you doing here?”

The three turned to see a young woman who was fairly well dressed and not at all perturbed by the mess the house was in. Brass held up his hand and stepped forward, leaving the two CSIs to stand there. “I’m Captain Brass with the Las Vegas PD. We have a warrant to search the premises. This is CSI Sage Parker and Nick Stokes…”

“Whatever,” the woman replied, “What are you doing in my brother’s house?”

Nick was the one that responded, “Your brother’s house?”

“Yeah. He may be a junkie but he still has rights.”

Sage frowned a bit at that but asked politely, “Does he have the street name Hefty?”

“Yeah. What are you? One of his customers? Or maybe a bimbo on the side?” The young woman was clearly agitated by the whole thing. She had a biting tone and wasn’t afraid to use it. She looked at the three of them with an expectant look.

“Actually I’m a scientist,” Sage replied politely.

“And I’m Joan Carson. Look I want you out.”

Brass cut in, “I’m sorry but we can’t.” Before she could argue some more he dropped the bombshell that her brother was dead.

****

Nick finished with his area and was loading up the evidence into the Tahoe. They were going to head back to the lab. It was all sorted and ready to go for when they got back to the lab. The only thing missing was one CSI and she was not in the truck. Knowing that she was probably getting a last look through, he went back in. Sure enough, he found Sage in the house just looking it over. “You planning on living here?”

“No but…” Sage absently replied as she looked around. The house was a mixture of messy, clean and sanitized, if it could be put in that order. She looked at Nick, “You ever get the feeling that you think you know your job and turns out that you don’t?”

“Is this one of your philosophy of life moments?” Nick wasn’t sure at what she was getting at.

“No, just… It’s like something is off… like at the first scene.” Sage made a waving motion and brushed it off. “Never mind. I’m doing too much of what you accuse me of. Let’s just get back to the lab.”

“Alright,” Nick replied. He followed Sage out, concerned that this case might be a little too much. He considered backing off on the leadership jokes as he climbed into the driver side.

Back at the lab, things seemed to settle down and the evidence was being processed, pieces getting sent to their respective places. The three CSIs worked their evidence and tried to piece it together even though it was difficult waiting for the results that they needed to fill in more holes. At least the interview with Hefty’s sister proved to be profitable in that the house did belong to Hefty and he had a roommate who was actually missing.

“Okay so we have a total of six bodies. Four which we think were killed by Dennis “Hefty” Carson, who also may have killed Jean Alcott…”

“Actually Hefty did kill the four at the house,” Nick interrupted Sara as they sat around the conference room table trying to catch a bite to eat. “Mandy came back with printed on the gun we recovered from Hefty’s house… two sets. His and another. The gun from the scene matches the unknown and she also pulled a few partials of Hefty’s.”

Sara looked at Nick like it was a surprise to her, “So we’re right in that there are at least two suspects and one is dead. What about the girl that was reenacting?”

“I think I can help with that,” Greg replied walking in. He took a seat next to Sage who automatically pushed a portion of carrot sticks towards him and went back to eating the one she had been eating for the past two minutes. “Thanks Sage.”

“No problem,” Sage replied, “So what do you have?”

“Well I compared the DNA from the hairs recovered to hairs taken from Jean Alcott… they’re a match,” Greg gave his report, leaning back in the chair he had taken.

“So Jean was the other suspect,” Sara confirmed.

“It gets better,” Greg continued. He chewed on a carrot stick and swallowed the bite. “As Sage requested, I compared markers for Jean Alcott and Hefty Carson. They share seven alleles in common. You got a brother-sister team.”

Sage looked up at that while Sara sputtered, “But Joan Carson said Hefty was her brother. How can that be?”

Greg smiled since this was the warm up and the glide in to the case breaker probably. He leaned back in his seat some more and looked almost like a boss at a desk. “Now that is where it gets interesting. The saliva from the cigarette butt Nick collected contained alleles in common to both. So Joan Carson is Hefty’s sister but she’s also a sister to Jean Alcott. So you have a sibling who changed her name or she was adopted.”

“I so did not see that coming.” Sara was surprised. Being a CSI meant that you saw a lot of things but you couldn’t really claim that you saw it all. She frowned a bit as she thought it out. “Okay so say if Jean and Hefty were working together, why target a group that Jean was dedicated to? I mean, the girl had two full bookshelves of crime novels.”

“Not to mention a killer pooch,” Greg muttered as a side bar. He got a bit of a scowl from Nick and made a silent motion of mock surrender.

Nick finished his scowl and picked up where Sara left off, “Maybe she didn’t expect that to happen. Remember Hefty was on drugs. She asked him for help; maybe she found out that they were siblings or the other way around. Either way, she convinces him to help her out. Hefty sees what’s inside…”

“Things get out of hand. Jean thinks Hefty is going off the deep end and tries to stop him. Hefty pistol whips the women and then Gerard comes in to check on Mrs. Whittenbower. He gets shot at, chased, pistol whipped and then killed,” Sara took over.

“Yeah,” Nick nodded in agreement, “He and Jean escape to her place. They argue and Hefty shoots Jean and someone knifes him in the alley.”

“Could be the missing roommate,” Sara offered. She looked over at Sage who was in thought and only appeared to be listening.

Sage had been listening to the walkthrough. It was pretty good but something wasn’t right there. “That’s pretty good and fits but what about the worry dolls. We found them at the Society House, Jean’s place and Hefty’s place. Materials at Carson’s place suggested that they were made there.”

“In that pigsty?” Nick looked a little incredulous at the idea. “Not to mention the smell.”

“Not all of it was messy,” Sage pointed out. “There were some areas that had some semblance of order. The bedroom, the roommate’s was clean, almost OCD clean and that is suggested that this person was a polar opposite to Hefty but they were probably friends. It suggests methodical thought and careful planning.”

“So you’re suggesting a third person,” Nick put forth.

Sage heard the question but she was also thinking about what she said and what the notes were saying. She got up from her seat and said that she would be back and left Sara and Nick looking at each other wondering what was going on.

Greg was giving a sleepy expression but he had been paying attention. He ate another carrot stick and said, “Looks like a light bulb went off. Must be something you two said.”

Sara and Nick looked at Greg who was finished with his carrot sticks. They watched him leave stating that he had some work to do. Sara looked at Nick and said, “I swear he does that on purpose.”

Nick gave a slight chuckle, “I don’t think it’s that. Parker just pulled a Grissom.”

Before Sara could respond, Sage had come back with a stack of books. She picked one off the top and tossed it at Sara, “Here, go to the marked page and tell me what you find.” She then took another off her stack and tossed it at Nick. “Same for you.”

Both CSIs fell to their tasks and read the marked passages in the books they had been tossed. Sara was the first to speak, “ _Frontier Justice: A Marshall’s Gambit_ , the victims in the holdup at the station had been pistol whipped by the robbers across the face.”

“ _Murdered Heart_ , each victim was killed with a single shot to the chest,” Nick said as he looked up from his book.

Sage nodded, “ _Coyote Run_ , the coyote had a habit of leaving behind homemade worry dolls, one for each of his victims.” She held up a copy of the book.

Nick reached over to the stack that Sage had plopped down on the table and picked up another and opened it. He read through it quickly and came back with, “ _The Big Hunt_ , the house had a back door that was nailed shut.”

“ _Chef’s Special_ , the chef’s dog was locked in the closet and he pounced on the detective,” Sara said after she had picked up another book. She looked at the other two, “So our scenes have elements from crime novels?”

“Maybe it’s a deranged fan or the missing roommate is a fan and decided one day to commit murder using pieces from the different crime novels,” Nick pointed out.

“That still doesn’t explain why at both scenes there were novels from _DC Homicide_ ,” Sara brought up. She was thumbing through the novels left on the stacks. It seemed to her that the evidence they uncovered reflected different parts of different crime novels. The oddballs were the novels and the way how they were left behind.

Greg came back in carrying some books and happened to overhear what Sara was saying. He responded, “I think I might be able to answer that for you.” He held up _Baltimore Cereal_ and opened it rifle through it.

“Where did you get those?”

Greg glanced at Nick and replied, “I keep them in my private stash with _Jamaica Heat._ ” He found what he was looking for and handed it over. He then rifled through _Child’s Play_.

Nick took it and read it silently. His eyes widened slightly at the text, “Whoa. The setup of the bodies matches _Baltimore Cereal_. The ones from The Homicide Society house.” He handed it over to Sage but she motioned for him to pass it to Sara. It was a bit suspicious but he brushed it off as he gave it to Sara.

“And Jean Alcott’s scene matches _Child’s Play_ ,” Greg said as he handed over the book opened to where the description was. “When I swabbed the bear with the book attached to it, it had me thinking.” He gave a shrug of his shoulders.

“Greg I could so hug you right now,” Sara said as she looked at the two books.

Sage had sat calmly watching the other CSIs at work. Her thoughts were indiscernible on her face but her focus was on the case. She couldn’t help but smile a little at the blush that flushed on Greg’s face when Sara complimented him on his finding. She knew that he had been nursing a crush on Sara; it wasn’t that hard to see when you worked side by side in the lab. “So we have two scenes with evidence that mimics from what looks like bestselling crime novels. What does that tell us?”

“That maybe the missing roommate is into crime novels,” Nick offered. He frowned a bit as he tried to remember the evidence he sorted through earlier that was collected from Hefty’s house. It then occurred to him and he said, “There was one more that was collected from the house.” He looked through his notes and found it. “Yeah uh it was _DC Homicide: Sibling for Hire_. Found it in the room that we agreed wasn’t Hefty’s.”

“I know this one,” Sara pointed out. Now that they were on a roll, all thoughts of food were forgotten. The case was getting hot and hotter by the second. “It was strange because it was almost like a setup from _Strangers on a Train_ but they ended up being siblings only one ends up looking like an innocent bystander and both end up dead.”

“Yeah but there are three siblings,” Nick pointed out.

“You’re also forgetting one part about _Sibling for Hire_ ,” Sage finally spoke. She looked at the three pairs of eyes that looked stunned that she actually spoke. She explained, “Ellen Sue Taylor. The sister of Rita Mae Whittenbower. They shared ownership of the house. Two pairs of siblings.”

“How could I miss that?” Sara was a little frustrated.

“Easy to miss,” Sage offered. “Even Parsons in the story didn’t figure it out that two sets of siblings were connected in some fashion aside from murder.”

“Okay so I’ll get Brass to find the sister,” Nick said.

“I’ll help Mandy with prints. If we run them through AFIS, we might find something,” Sara offered.

“Run with it,” Sage replied. She knew that she was expected to do something and added, “I’ll follow up on the missing roommate with Detective Aguilar.”

The ‘meeting’ broke up and the CSIs went to do their respective tasks. Nick was going in the same direction as Sage so it was easy to tag a long and stay in step. It also gave him the opportunity to ask, “How did you know about the other pair of siblings in that book?”

“I read, Stokes,” Sage replied with a slight smile. “Reading was always a passion of mine and still is. Plus I like puzzles. It’s why I like this job.” She gave a playful jab with her finger, “You should know that but then again there is always a benefit with a former Aggie football star.”

Nick gave a slight grin at that. “Don’t be making fun of my alma mater.”

“Since when have I not?” Sage gave a saucy grin as they made their way down to homicide to complete their respective tasks.


	8. Chapter 8

“You know I half expect to find elderly ladies with a knitting group talking about knitting patterns. Never expect to find one being a cashier at a casino.”

Nick could agree with that as he stood with Brass inside the M Resort Casino in Henderson. It had taken some digging and there was plenty of time to do that and it ended up being that Ellen Sue Taylor worked during the day. So Nick spent time going over the woman’s history and background, the things you could do any time of day if you had the Internet and a computer.

The benefit was that the woman was in the system for a work card so if she did have her prints on their weapons, they would pop up. Right now they just had to find her and they were looking for her direct boss who happened to look like a kid in Nick’s view. He looked mousy but he was competent in his job. And he was being firm about what their business was; the whole protecting the employees and the casino… the usual.

While Brass was talking to the manager, Nick got a call from Sara and answered, “Yeah?”

_Ran all our prints and Ellen Sue Taylor is not on anything except for one._

“And it’s not on our murder weapons?”

_No. Actually the partial that was on the binding of the book at the Homicide Society house was the match._

“Wait, you mean the one that was left at the scene?”

_Yeah. I went over the eyewitness accounts and the list of who was there. Ellen Sue wasn’t there. The print could have been planted or it was a gift._

Nick looked at nothing in particular. This case was getting weirder by the second. It seemed like a big break when they figured out why everything seemed so familiar to people. Even he thought that it was rather strange that someone would basically copy a bunch of different elements from different novels. The person even seemed to have a vested interest in the _DC Homicide_ series.

He would be lying if he said that he didn’t like the series and he already admitted that he did. It was true that he liked the forensics aspect and being in his nature, he analyzed it critically. He could tell that particular attention had been paid close attention to the forensics but it was, for lack of a better term, dummied down so that the average person could understand and it didn’t sound cheesy. They were a good read when he wasn’t watching sports or playing the latest video game or anything else he did to veg out. And he wasn’t lying when he said that he had signed first edition sent from the author’s fan club.

He focused on his conversation with Sara, “So possibly it has nothing to do with our case.”

_A maybe but considering the evidence we have…_

“I know. Look, Brass and I are at the casino where she works. We’ll get an address and check it out.”

_You sure you don’t need backup? She might have a Yorkie._

Nick pulled a face. It appeared that neither Sara nor Sage were going to let him live down the fact that he had been bitten by a house pet that wasn’t even a vicious guard dog. “Yeah laugh it up Sara. If I need backup I’ll call Mom.” He hung up not even realizing that he may have made things worse for him on the joking end of things.

He walked back over to where Brass was talking to Ellen Sue’s boss. He was saying, “Well Ellie hasn’t come in since yesterday and it’s not her regularly scheduled days off. She hasn’t called in and she usually does when she has one of those meetings of hers.”

“Meetings?” Brass looked at the manager with a curious expression. Nick was curious too about that.

“Some group, probably her knitting circle or something… I don’t know but she always calls. I really don’t want to fire her. Upper management has been trying to find an excuse but she’s good at what she does…”

“Mr. Hollins,” Brass interrupted before the poor man could work himself up into a fit, “Could it be possible for you to give us her address? We just have a few questions.”

Mr. Hollins paused a moment and studied the detective and the CSI. He made a decision and said, “Just a moment.” He then turned and scurried back into his office.

“Thinking what I’m thinking?” Nick glanced at Brass. His arms had been crossed over his chest while they waited.

“Probably and it has to do with a woman who hasn’t reported in to work,” Brass replied, “And I don’t think it has to do with a knitting circle.”

Nick thought so too but he was going to reserve judgment until he actually met the woman. Plus you couldn’t get ahead of the evidence and he had done that before but that was an emotional time. So he was going at it like it was any other case. “I think so but let’s wait and see what Miss Taylor has to say.”

Ellen Sue Taylor had something to say all right and it wasn’t about a knitting circle. Nick and Brass had gone to the lady’s house after getting the address from the manager and attempted to see if she was home. They arrived midday, neither of them concerned that they were going to get it with the OT on this one.

The house was a nice little bungalow type; the kind that was stereotypical of retired old ladies. The lawn was nicely trimmed and the flowerbeds were maintained. Nick surmised that when she wasn’t working, she was gardening and for some odd reason he thought of Miss Maudie from _To Kill a Mockingbird._ It was probably because he had books on the brain as Brass knocked on the door. He did take the time to glance around.

It seemed that everything was neat and tidy around the place. First glance it looked like a typical house but being a CSI meant he had to look for things that might not be considered typical. He walked along the porch to peek into the windows. The first one revealed nothing so he moved onto the next one. In the meantime Brass called out to see if the woman was home.

“Nobody home, mister.”

Brass turned to see a little boy standing on his scooter looking at him. He asked, “You know Miss Taylor?”

“Yeah. She hasn’t been home. She left yesterday in her new car.”

Brass raised his brow at that. “New car?”

In the meantime, Nick was doing his search when he came to the window that got a good view of the living room. He took a peek in and what he saw had him call for the seasoned captain, “Jim. We got a problem here.” He looked in the window and saw the body he found move. He added, “Call a bus. Looks like she’s still alive.”

Brass was on the horn and they got into the house. They found Ellen Sue Taylor on the ground and bleeding from a head wound. It looked like she had been snuck up upon and given a good hit upon the head and left to die. They weren’t going to know until she was treated at the hospital.

Nick looked at the small blood pool and then cast his light around. He didn’t think that Ellen Sue Taylor was involved but he had learned to not take anything for granted when it came to a case. Initially there seemed to be nothing that was related to the case but the closer he inspected, he was in for a surprise.

Like the Whittenbower house, there were bookshelves with crime novels galore on them. They were organized as meticulously as the other two scenes, alpha order by series and individual novels. He frowned as he inspected the room.

“So our vic’s sister was attacked and she had been slipping in and out of consciousness. Perp obviously left her more likely for dead,” Brass said as he looked around. He didn’t expect Nick to say anything and let him do his thing and looked around himself.

Nick didn’t say anything. In fact from what he could tell there was hardly a disturbance at all. That usually meant that the victim knew her attacker or it was someone who could garner a lot of trust. He shone his light near where the woman had been found and noticed something. The small end table had been overturned, probably by the assailant.

Kneeling, he took a closer look. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the table but the placement was off. A closer look revealed that it had been deliberately set. Nick pulled out his camera and took a couple of placement photos. He wasn’t going to leave anything to chance and considering the information they had about this case.

His hunch proved right in this case as he examined the end table. Tucked in the edge of the table was where he found it. It was another one of those worry dolls just like the other cases. He held it up with his tweezers just as Brass turned and said, “So I talked to the kid. He said that he saw our victim leave but didn’t see anyone go in.”

“Probably because someone was already in the house or they came when most people wouldn’t notice,” Nick offered as he studied the doll. It was like the others and the materials seemed to be similar but that would have to wait until they got back to the lab. He noticed something that the doll appeared to be holding and took a closer look.

Brass in the meantime had gone out to talk to the kid that he had earlier. The kid said no one was home. That meant there was the possibility that the assailant may have been in disguise when they left; they pretended to be Miss Taylor. It was a strange theory but it seemed to fit and Nick’s explanation about getting in could explain why no one saw him… or her.

Nick studied the doll and what it was holding. It was tiny and could easily be missed if one wasn’t looking carefully. Yet since the three of them had been handed this case, they all had been extra on the examinations and processing. As he peered at it, it became clear that the doll was holding a book and there was actually printing on it. He didn’t think print could get that small but still… Taking the time to read, he realized what it said. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

****

Sage looked at nothing as she followed Aguilar to the door to the bookstore. She held her cell phone up and listened to the voice at the other end and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She had followed a hunch that could have bearing on the case but she prayed to God it didn’t since that would require eventual awkward explanations and questions about why she was doing a detective’s job.

_The usual come in but nothing like what you described. DC Homicide has been rated as the number one bestseller series._

“I know that,” Sage replied in a low tone. “It’s been a magnet for the crazies that have attachment issues.”

_Don’t be that way. You know the business if you remember the last case with one of my authors?_

“Don’t remind me,” Sage replied as she stopped. She looked around and continued, “Okay so no unusual calls, emails and the like to Sarre then?”

_No. Just the usual simpering how I love you and some are a little creepy but not like when you investigated that case. I’m sorry. Maybe it’s one of those off the grid fans or something._

“Maybe,” Sage conceded. She didn’t like where this was going but at least there was one piece she didn’t have to involve. She played a hunch and it didn’t pan out. “Thanks Millie.”

_No problem. Oh I have the advanced copy ready for you and I sent out the peer review versions. Your article to that new textbook was interesting and…_

“Don’t try to flatter me Millie. I know you are bored with my ramblings and thanks for the copy. Tell your guys in the textbook division I said hello.” She gave a slight smile as she heard the retort on the other end and ended the call. She put the phone in her jacket pocket and walked to where Aguilar was waiting.

“Problem?” Hector had a raised brow with his question. It had been rather a relief and a pleasure to find out that she was requesting his help in looking for the missing roommate. Then again it was related to the scene at the Alcott house but Brass was still the lead. It was a pleasure since they got to see each other and work together.

He found out that the missing roommate was one Dani Evans, female and current student at WLVU in the criminal justice program. She was straight A’s and on the Dean’s List and she worked at a mom and pop bookstore which he found. He had alerted Sage the moment he found something and they found themselves at the western part of Las Vegas.

On the trip there, she seemed preoccupied and had been talking to someone. He didn’t ask since it seemed that it was relevant to the case. He was curious at the types of questions. They were the kind a seasoned detective would ask but they seemed to have a hint at something that might be personal but the simple explanation for that was she said that she knew this person from a case she worked at Metro in DC and it was the same publisher for some of the crime novels that the CSIs recovered.

Thomas was fine with that and continued to the ‘Oh the Places You’ll Go’ bookstore. He looked at Sage who seemed to be a little distracted as if she were thinking about something. He was concerned since they were about to go in and inquire about Dani Evans.

Sage looked at Hector and replied, “No. Just a bit of relief and disappointment. Sometimes it happens on a case.”

Hector raised his brow to be sure. He didn’t ask but said, “Okay. I checked and Dani Evans has been working here for the past two years. Real go getter according to some of her classmates.”

Sage made a humming sound as she took in the vitals Hector fed her. She was finding it odd that someone like Dani would want to room with a slob and a drug addict like Hefty. Then again there were addicts who weren’t readily apparent. They were that good at hiding it and they lived in a world of lies and deceptions. “And yet she lives with a guy like Hefty,” she murmured.

“Maybe a boyfriend?”

“Or cheap rent,” Sage offered as she let Hector open the door for her. At the look he gave, she said, “Poor college student. Some places I’ve stayed in weren’t exactly four star either.” She gave a slight smile as she walked in.

The shop was like a typical bookstore but it looked like one found in movies. The shelves looked a little dusty and the available space looked cluttered with stacks of books. It was pretty much a haven for someone who was interested in books. Sage herself would have loved to be in that shop to actually buy a book or two. She was almost certain that she spotted a couple of rare first editions that she would like to have. The drooling though would have to wait since they had a case but she couldn’t help but cast a curious look in their direction.

There was a man at the counter. He wasn’t old and he wasn’t young either and he seemed to fit the description of the creepy shop owner who knew things. Sage made an inward huff at that since she was certain that she had been having stories on the brain. She took in his appearance; more like the professor who was neat and clean but the clothes looked a little wrinkled like he slept in them. It probably wasn’t that farfetched of an idea.

The man was sitting at the counter wearing a pair of thin rimmed glasses and reading a book. Hector said, “Excuse me, are you the owner?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Detective Aguilar and this is CSI Parker.”

“Right and I’m Santa Claus.”

Sage raised her brow and looked at Hector. It was clear that he didn’t quite like the way how the shopkeeper was cooperating or lack thereof. She could see that he expected some modicum of respect even from the guys that didn’t really like cops and made it known. It was one of those strange social aspects that one didn’t question too deeply and it was what it was. This case, it seemed that there was something to annoy Hector with and he was the kind who would fight for Dulcinea’s honor.

Pulling out her ID she held it up along with a DMV photo of the girl they were looking for and said, “I’m with the crime lab. Do you have a Dani Evans that works here?” She put the photo on the counter.

The shopkeeper looked at her over the rim of his glasses and carefully scrutinized her. HE then looked down to glimpse the DMV photo that had been placed there. He turned a page and asked, “Who wants to know?”

Hector was not willing to let the rudeness continue but Sage made a slight motion with her hand. She replied, “Her house had evidence of a crime in it and we would like to clear her as a suspect if at all possible. Have you seen her?”

The owner looked at Sage and then Hector and back to Sage. He put his finger in the book as if to hold his place and replied, “She works here. Been working for me for the last two years trying to pay for school.”

“Is she in?” Hector took a step forward as he asked his question. He didn’t want to get rough and rowdy but with six bodies lined up at the morgue and evidence that looked like it was out of a piece of crime fiction, he wasn’t in the mood to treat it as a joke coming from people who may know where the crucial piece is. He was a person who respected the legal rights of a person so he reigned himself in and let Sage take the lead.

The owner looked at Hector and adjusted his glasses. “No she’s not. Normally she’s in class. Some English literature class or something. The girl is always writing a story or reading them. Can’t really find another worker who loves books as much as she does.”

Sage digested that piece of information. “Did she ever write anything like say… a crime story?”

“She’s always writing those. Wants to be the next whoever is the big ticket on the market. The girl can recite the technicalities in sentence structure. Boring as hell but she’s passionate about it.” The owner looked at the pair. “Why do you want to talk to her?”

“We’re investigating a homicide and her roommate Carson was killed. We’d like to ask her some questions about what happened,” Sage replied.

“I told her to move out of that house and dump that loser Hefty. Still she said that he was getting better and she really liked the house. The place was a mess except for the areas that were hers.”

That confirmed that Dani Evans was a resident of the house. It didn’t establish though whether or not she would have motive and means of committing the crimes. Sage calmly took in the responses and just looked around. It was a bookworm’s dream. She couldn’t help but give a slight smile at a happier time with her sister Cassie. It was before Cassie discovered the power of her charms and did what she did with it.

“You’re one of us,” the owner said.

Sage snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the owner, “What?”

“A bookworm,” the owner clarified. He gestured towards Sage and the books, “You can always tell by the way they look at the written word. You’re a book worm.”

“I do love to read. As a kid I always had a book in my hands. Is Dani a bookworm too?” Sage offered the information freely trying to gain rapport.

The owner nodded, “She is. Currently she’s interested in them textbooks of hers. She would be sitting at the counter with a book out. Good for business.”

Hector took his cue to ask more questions while Sage looked around. “How often does Dani come in to work?”

“Forty hours and full time student,” the owner replied. He eyed Hector with a look as if trying to size him up. “And she still brings in the A’s. You know her folks never helped her out with college expenses. Not even her grandmother.” He sounded a bit bitter over that.

“So for the most part she was on her own,” Hector clarified as he made his notes.

“Pretty much. I’m the only one she could get excited about with her grades. She was trying to save up for some trip to a conference and see her favorite author.”

Sage was listening in the beginning. She then started looking around. She asked if it was okay if she could look around. The owner wasn’t stupid and said she could look around the store but not the back where employees went. If she wanted that she needed a warrant. That was fine for now. Besides she didn’t think the owner had anything to do with it but he was at risk of obstruction if he knew where Dani was and wasn’t saying anything. She left Hector to fill him in on that while she walked through the store.

It was a bookstore all right. It had new books and there was a section of used books. She recalled that Sara’s book evidence from the Alcott house was a battered version of _Child’s Play_ so that had her thinking. She walked into the section and pulled out her penlight to get a better look.

The selection ranged from classics to, not surprisingly, crime novels. She managed to find a fairly good condition of _The Hounds of Baskerfield_. She gave a wry smile as she continued to look at the secondhand collection. She used to troll the secondhand bookstores for books to add to her collection growing up.

_You are such a nerd Sagey. Always with your nose in a book._

Looking at the stacks brought back memories for Sage. Even now as an adult she had an impressive collection of books. The spare room that was her study had a shelf full of books she had collected; some were gifts from friends and colleagues and all read at some point and over again. She could sort of understand the position of the girl they were looking for.

Turning, her light caught something. It would have been easy to miss had it been a casual observer. Frowning, Sage walked towards the shelf and shined her light in the crevice between two books. Pulling her tweezers out of her vest she grasped the edge of it and pulled it out.

It was a folded piece of paper and it looked like something else was folded in it. She rotated the tweezers to get a better look of all the visible sides. She did find something that looked of interest and she could view it when she held it up to the light. It was small but very recognizable. It looked like they might have another lead but the real question was whether or not they could find the girl.

Bagging the evidence to be looked at later, Sage came out of the stacks and asked, “Did Dani ever work here over in the used section?”

“She hung around there. Always found a book she liked and was within her budget. Why?”

Sage looked at Hector and they shared a look. She then looked at the owner and replied, “I think that she was doing more than reading and studying back there.”

“We need to know where she is. If you know anything tell us,” Hector added as he looked at the owner.


	9. Chapter 9

“Here. We can’t have you falling asleep on us now.”

Sage stifled the yawn that threatened, turning it into a chuckle as she looked at the mug from the café that was being held in front of her face. She looked up at the owner of the hand and replied, “I don’t fall asleep on the job but I will accept the pick me up.” She accepted the cup of coffee.

Nick grinned as he took a seat in the office after handing Sara her cup. “Right. You sleep when you’re dead.”

“Nah Parker’s like me. We burn midnight oil,” Sara said as she took a sip of her coffee. She had the reports on the prints and had presented them to Sage. “Of course it’s a matter of who’s coasting and who’s speeding.”

“I pace myself,” Sage replied as she took a sip. It wasn’t a surprise that it was her usual way of having her coffee. She was even surprised that Nick got her favorite blend. “Columbia roast?”

“Yeah. It’s your usual. Black,” Nick replied.

Sage made a face of approval. She never mentioned her coffee preferences and Greg spoiled her with Hawaiian Blue on occasion, mostly if it was a particularly difficult case or one that seemed to bother her. She looked at Nick and saw that teasing grin of his and raised her brow in a silent query.

Nick made a slight nod and took a sip of his cup. The shift was technically over judging by the daylight that was well filtering into the windows. Yet he was willing to follow the lead’s lead and stay on the clock and in order to so that, the midnight oil was needed. He knew she took her coffee black… almost everyone knew that… but he knew her preferences. He had a little help in that area.

Sage nodded, accepting Nick’s silent nod, thinking that it was just a matter of paying attention like a good CSI. Columbian blend was her favorite and she didn’t hold much with the fancy stuff that Starbucks called coffee. She took a sip and savored the taste. “Nothing beats a good cuppa.”

“That and knowing that Rule 41 is always in effect,” Nick replied as he took a sip of his coffee. He gave a smirk at Sage.

“Rule 41?” Sara looked at the pair, aware that she was unaware or missing something. She could see that it held some meaning between Sage and Nick judging by the way Sage was chuckling.

“Yeah Rule 41,” Nick pointed out like Sara should know what it was all about. He grinned at Sage to indicate that he was going to have fun with this. “Most everyone knows this one.”

“I don’t.” Sara looked at Sage who was just pouring over her notes and got a look that said she was to ask Nick. She looked at Nick who was trying to hide a smirk. “Okay what’s the deal?”

Nick didn’t answer but Sage did, knowing that this was just going to frustrate Sara and dealing with an annoyed Sara Sidle was like dealing with a freaked out grad student. She said without looking up, “Rule 41: Never mess with a Marine’s coffee if you want to live.”

“That sounds a little extreme,” Sara replied.

“Not to a Marine,” Nick countered with a slightly raised brow as he drank his coffee. “Those guys practically live on the stuff.”

“And I know that Parker is not a Marine. She’s a baby practically…”

“Old enough,” Sage piped up. She looked at the other two. “It’s a rule my Daddy established. I just picked it up and Stokes here happened to be the unfortunate victim of breaking the rule.”

“Wait so…” Sara put two and two together and figured out why they had seemed so start off like oil and water. She scoffed a laugh and smiled.

“Yeap and Stokes has been paying for it ever since,” Sage replied. She gave a side glance at Nick and grinned. “That and he’s been competing with Greggo to keep me from being a cranky, caffeine deprived probie.” It was a full blown smile when she noticed the look on Nick’s face like he had been had.

“Probie?” Sara looked at Nick like he had been hiding something juicy from her. “That’s a little degrading considering you are at level three, arrived from DC where you held a supervisor’s position for what five years?” She looked at Nick and asked, “And you call her a probie?”

“Hey she called herself that.”

“Privilege, Stokes,” Sage replied. She took another sip of her coffee and swallowed, savoring the taste of the coffee. She sobered and continued along the serious discussion that involved the case, “Okay so what do we know about Ellen Sue Taylor apart from part ownership of the Whittenbower home?”

“Actually I dug some more into that,” Sara offered. She gave a smile and added, “Gotta keep the race up you know. Anyway, they did have part ownership but there appeared to be a disagreement. I checked with the Homicide Society and it appeared that they were both head of that chapter house.”

“Which works since I found bookcases of crime novels in her place,” Nick pointed out. “So this whole thing may be an act of revenge?”

“Well we know that Hefty and Jean Alcott were involved in the Whittenbower house scene. Jean was there doing a reenactment for the group and she probably got Hefty in somehow. We know that they knew each other. How not clear at this point.” Sage looked at Sara and Nick and sort of pointed with her pencil for emphasis. “We do know that there was a scuffle with Jean getting a few of her hairs pulled out. DNA confirms this. We know that there were two weapons at the scene, one belonging to Hefty and the other to Jean.”

“Okay,” Sara began, “It was a meeting of the Homicide Society and Jean was reenacting. She’s an avid member as well and agreed. She goes there, the fight between a couple of the ladies ensues and she gets her hair pulled out.”

“They were held at gunpoint so that implies that Hefty was in the house,” Nick pointed out. “Jean and Hefty had guns and both were used. They fled the scene to Jean’s house. They must have had an argument and Hefty shoots Jean and…”

“That’s where our third person comes in,” Sage pointed out. “They knife Hefty and… left him escape probably knowing he wouldn’t get far. He dies and we are left with a third player in the wind.”

“Money’s on the roommate,” Sara replied.

“I agree,” Nick countered. “Ellen Sue Taylor was assaulted in her home and left for dead. Hospital said that she was going to be okay and I found another one of those dolls only this one had me a little surprised.” He looked at the other two, and saw that he had their attention. He continued on his explanation, “The doll was made to look like her and if we took a good look, we would see it in the others.”

“Another about a book left behind? The other scenes had it,” Sara pointed out.

“Yeah. The doll was holding a book and it was another _DC Homicide_ book. This one was _Sibling for Hire_ ,” Nick replied with a serious expression on his face. “I’m thinking that the basis for the scenes comes from that series and the different elements come from other books and they are all notably best sellers or very popular.”

“Sounds like someone has an obsession with crime novels,” Sara replied. “We might be looking for another Homicide Society member.”

“Dani Evans, the missing roommate is studying for a degree in literature at WLVU,” Sage pointed out. She had been quiet and in deep thought about the whole discussion. She wanted to get this solved and the person responsible behind bars. She had some ideas about who they were dealing with. “Detective Aguilar and I checked at the school and with people she knew. Dani was heavily into literature, and even was on a fast track to having her story published, the youngest ever.”

“Yeah but what you found out, she’s a straight A student and a steady job. The only thing that seems out of place is the fact that she rooms in a house with Hefty,” Nick pointed out.

“But her boss implied that they might have been boyfriend-girlfriend,” Sage pointed out. She noticed the looks both were shooting at her. “It’s not the first time that someone who is essentially a good girl makes a couple of ‘bad’ choices. Unfortunately people get hung up on the fact that someone so good can’t possibly do something like that. But experience has shown us that people are capable of just most anything.”

“And you know this from experience?” Sara looked at Sage with a pointed look. She had noticed that she had been thoughtful every time they had a group discussion like she might have a theory but Sara wasn’t quite sure. Sure she knew Sage but not well enough to push for more. There was the potential of having Nick do it since…

“Not the first time,” Sage pointed out. “We spend so much time trying to conform to what is considered the norm in society that when someone who is the epitome of those standards violates them… we are in shock and can’t believe it.”

“So you think that the roommate may have a hand in this?”

“This seems to show meticulous thought. The attention to detail on the different pieces of evidence reflects someone who is very detail oriented. The room in the Carson house that wasn’t Hefty’s territory was very neat and tidy, more than what was found at Alcott’s residence. It is possible that Dani Evans may be the one who orchestrated this.” Sage tapped her pencil on the table. “Unfortunately, it’s a matter of finding her and seeing if it holds water. We have tabs on her place of work and residence and the university but…”

At that moment Greg walked in and handed something over. “Well the swab from the dog’s teeth indicated human and after excluding Nick here, there was female DNA but not Jean Alcott.”

That was something else. The silence was deafening and Greg thought he might have said something he shouldn’t. “Did I say anything?”

“Nothing bad Greg but just verifying a few things that may be significant,” Sage replied.

****

“I would have thought that since what happened with one of my girls, you wouldn’t be back. This is a surprise.”

Sage looked up from the cup of tea that she had been sipping from at her host. “Well actually I am fascinated by human behavior on occasion. More on what people considered deviant behavior.”

“But you don’t consider my profession deviant behavior?”

“Not at all Lady Heather,” Sage replied. She put down her cup. After Greg’s finding and with no fresh leads, another day was spent on this case and more about waiting for follow up on the PD end. Sara decided to earn some more OT on processing any outstanding evidence they had left and take a closer look at the dolls since Nick revealed that the dolls were made like the victims… well at least the one found with Ellen Sue Taylor. “It’s simply an extension of our most base emotions; the things that we yearn to release but society teaches us that we can’t.”

Lady Heather looked at Sage as she took a sip of her tea and gave a slight smile. “And you have questions that you think you know the answer to but aren’t sure,” she said as she leaned forward and clasped her hands together.

“As always you are perceptive Lady Heather.”

“I can say the same about you… may I call you Sage? Parker seems very informal though I sense it is a means of protecting yourself from the world.”

“You’d be right,” Sage replied.

“And why is that? You seem to get along well with your colleagues,” Lady Heather offered. She had been surprised when the CSI showed up at her doorstep as part of a visit. Yet she had been wondering when she would see the CSI that didn’t say much but observed almost everything with a sort of rapt fascination.

Sage looked at the woman. When she first met the woman, she was not shocked by her business and her outlook on things. The whole dominatrix and the means of deriving pleasure without resorting to sex; it was appealing in terms of human behavior. While most people at the lab knew more or less that she was a licensed shrink and they knew she brushed it off but they didn’t know that she still studied case studies of human behavior.

Lady Heather and her domain was more than an interesting subject matter to satiate her curiosity. Sage was drawn by her outlook on life and the way how she dealt with what was considered a male dominated society. It was why she didn’t bother with mind games but rather decided to speak the plain truth. “I get along with them…”

“That tall one with the accent…”

“Just my partner,” Sage countered with a smile on her face. She wasn’t going to let this get bigger than what it really was.

Lady Heather gave a knowing nod. She smiled a bit, “Ah strictly professional but I sense some friendships in there. Slow, cautious and that implies a past and one that probably is more painful to admit to.”

“Painful, still is but not crippling.”

“But you still blame yourself and you were close. Who was it that died?”

Sage looked at Lady Heather and took another sip of her tea. She wasn’t sure about talking about it but… She put down her cup of tea and replied, “It was my partner at Metro in DC. He was originally from Baltimore PD and they paired us together. He committed suicide.”

“And you blame yourself.”

“Let’s just say that if I had been firmer and more observant, it wouldn’t have happened and he would have eventually gotten through his divorce.”

“You were the other woman.”

Sage looked t Lady Heather like she was out of her mind. “No. We were partners and friends. I was friends with his wife. The thing was… she never blamed me for what happened. She said it was her fault.”

Lady Heather poured her guest another cup of tea. “A sign of friendship assuredly but you cannot accept that. You think that what your actions cause, you must accept the consequences. You stand for those and help them to stand on their own but willing to fall. That led to events back east and you came out west where you seem to blend in with the background.”

“I’m not anxious to repeat that.”

Lady Heather studied the CSI as she poured herself another cup of tea. She offered a platter of dainties on a tray. “Most people are like that but I sense that when given the opportunity you would charge forward. You don’t strike me as the type of person to be afraid of something.”

“Generally I’m not but there is a first for everything. There comes a time when you grow up and learn that you are not immortal.”

“Hardly you.” Lady Heather watched the look that came across Sage’s face. She could tell that her guest was not used to being that analyzed. “But I can tell that as much as you want people to know you, you are afraid of being known out of fear of rejection.”

“Right on that point,” Sage replied. “I am very shy about people knowing me but not afraid to let it be known when I feel the need to say something.” Her tone became a little snippy at that. “Something that I picked up because it felt like hell being the very youngest in your class and that was because it was a result of being identified as a prodigy as a child.”

Lady Heather wasn’t put out by the snippiness of Sage’s tone. “And the way to fit in with the world was to not appear as intelligent was to participate in behaviors that would make you appear normal but also some deviant behavior.” She motioned towards the dog collar that was on Sage’s neck. She smiled to indicate that she didn’t find it at all bothersome or strange.

“The sports were for fun and I can admit to being an adrenaline junkie and the mild form of Goth was to make mama a little mad,” Sage replied with a slight smile. She cleared her throat and changed the subject. “Lady Heather, I came by because I do have a problem with a case I am working on and I think I know more than what we have but it might be a hunch and there is something about it that throws me off.”

“And you want my help?”

Sage looked at the woman. “I don’t have to flatter you by telling you that you have a unique way of reading people. I know you helped quite a bit in the case that involved one of your girls and you did say that you can read a person the instant they walk through the door.” She studied Lady’s Heather’s expression. She could see that the woman wasn’t showing much but she was thinking about things a bit. She continued, “I came in an honest capacity despite being a little moody.”

“You did,” Lady Heather conceded, “And I will see what I can do. What exactly do you need help with?”

Sage looked at Lady Heather. She then relayed her suspicions. She couldn’t discuss details of the case so she went on another route. “The thing I have is a suspect who seems capable of committing murder but…”

“You have your doubts. Your suspect fits the profile but you think that there is more to it.”

“Scenes and nature of the crime are consistent with the meticulous habits of the suspect in mind but the ability to coordinate… It implies someone with high charisma and possibly highly manipulative. The suspect is intelligent and detail oriented.” Sage frowned a little as she looked down at her cup. She fingered the rim slightly. “My suspect knows details that are consistent with details that are…”

“So you may be dealing with four suspects?”

“As of now, I have evidence for three.”

Lady Heather thought about it for a moment. “Then you should take what you can get. But that’s not going to satisfy you. Is it?”

“I want to see all those responsible to face consequences,” Sage admitted. “But I know that in my line of work we have to follow the evidence. We may have all this technology and stuff to help us but in the end it gets us so far and there have been incidents where the fish does get away.”

“And what of that part that you don’t want to admit that may have to do with you?”

“What?”

Lady Heather gave a slight smile. She knew that there was something that the CSI wasn’t saying and it might have had bearing on the case. “I don’t know. You tell me. Something about this case bothers you and it is something that you know but aren’t willing to share.” She paused a moment to study Sage. “There are some things that can’t be hidden forever. Sooner or later the connection is made.”

The conversation carried on a little bit with some areas being cordial. Lady Heather always kept coming back to what Sage refused to say on each occasion. It continued for a couple of hours until Sage knew she had to leave. She said her good bye and Lady Heather replied, “It has been rather interesting. You have amazing control over what you decide to share. I look forward to other conversations.”

Sage merely smiled and agreed that it was a nice thing. Her visit with Lady Heather cleared up some things but they needed a chance to be sorted out. It was time to go home and catch a few hours of sleep and then tackle at it. Perhaps by then Aguilar or Brass would have something on Dani Evans. Then they would have something on this. First though she needed something to eat. Morning tea was a snack so to speak but she needed to put food in her stomach.

It was tempting to go to the diner and order breakfast but that was not in the direction of home. Plus there was something she wanted to check on that could only be found in her house. So there were plenty of places on the way home to grab something. It was just a matter of finding something that sounded good.

The place that came to mind was a taco joint. It wasn’t exactly breakfast food but it sounded good and a bit of spicy didn’t hurt. Hell she practically was raised on Cajun food and there were a couple of times that had been some college day fun but still spicy was good and it hadn’t given her indigestion yet. She pulled up to a walk up joint that had pretty good beef and walked up to the window.

“Been a long time Sassy.”

Sage grinned, “Not long enough Jorge. But you’re always on my route.” She laughed with the proprietor and ordered her food. She spent some time chatting with his daughter who was almost finished with high school and looking at the prospect of college. It would have to be a community college venue but higher education was higher education. Sage gloated over the girl’s achievement and the fact that she was graduating with high honors.

The conversation carried on for a few more moments after Jorge brought her food up. She was talking about a scholarship that was available to UNLV students that were first generation students and low income. Sage knew that Jorge was full of pride so she was prudent to mention scholarships that relied on academics as well as academic programs that she knew about.

“You seem to work more than you enjoy life. You always have good advice about school for Josephina.”

“Just making sure that people know of the opportunities that are available,” Sage replied as she took a piece of cerviche Jorge’s wife offered. “I believe people should be aware of the opportunities but it is up to them whether or not they take the chance within their means.” She picked up her bag. “Thanks Jorge.”

“Bring by that friend of yours. I’ll make sure to have the menudo on and I’ll make him plump.”

“I like my Greggo the way he is,” Sage replied laughing. “But I will bring him by. He keeps complaining that there are no good Mexican places but I told him you were the best.”

There was some more chortling and jokes until Sage took her leave since more customers were coming. She headed back to her car and got in the driver’s side. She looked back at the stand and smiled at Josephina who was waving. It was then she felt something on the back of her neck and her muscles tensed.

“Don’t do anything. Just drive.”

Sage said nothing but her face became somber. She turned her car out and started driving. She had no particular destination in mind and her impromptu passenger was going to call the shots. She didn’t notice that Josephina was watching the whole thing and immediately went to the phone in the store.


	10. Chapter 10

Sage had yet to be out to some of the more remote places in Clark County. Pahrump was one such place and it was the direction in which she had her car pointed towards. She was no stranger to being in a hostage situation though. It was one of the more secretive things that Lady Heather would say that she was keeping.

The slight pressure from whatever it was on the back of her neck had her not questioning what was going on. Her experience taught her to play along with the person but she could ensure that there were means of getting out. She just had to play it smart. She did glance in the rearview mirror and got a good look at her ‘captor’. “Dani Evans?”

Dani sniffed when she heard her name. “Shut up and drive.”

“Hey I’m driving but it seems a little silly without a destination in mind,” Sage replied in a calm tone. She kept her eyes on the road but also took the time to glance at the mirror to check on the girl. “You have somewhere you want me to go?”

“Where you’re going is good,” Dani replied. She looked around the car. “Keep going.”

“Alright,” Sage replied. She made a slight adjustment since she was coming up on a car that was a little slow. “So I hear that you are working on your degree in linguistics.” She deliberately gave the wrong program.

Dani rubbed her face. She was tired and things were bad. She did what she was supposed to do. She wanted to be able to prove that she could solve crimes. “Criminal justice.,” she corrected. “I like books and learning about crime.”

“I do too,” Sage replied, trying to gain some rapport. She glanced back and watched the girl. She looked tired like she hadn’t had a decent night’s worth of sleep or something like that in a few days. That had Sage thinking in her reference library in her mind. “You look a little tired. Having trouble sleeping?”

Dani rubbed her eyes. “A little. I am involved in a project to see if a CSI could figure out a crime that is a little out of the ordinary.”

Sage decided to take an interest, “Really? What was that?” It sounded false and stupid to her.

“I set it up. The books gave it all but the greatest was PKS. It was like she knew crime inside and out. She knew the mindset.” Dani rubbed her eyes but didn’t lose sight of what she was doing. This was the one. She was sure of it. “I want her to be proud of me.”

Sage thought about that as she adjusted her position to keep in a certain speed limit. “I’m sure that she is…”

“No because it has to be finished,” Dani interrupted. “But I also have to finish my paper. Paul wanted to read it before I turn it in. Professor Ross has high expectations.” She looked at Sage and then out the windshield. “But that paper is boring. English lit is boring.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Sage replied. She felt whatever it was that Dani was using was not a gun. It didn’t quite feel right and she could honestly say that it was a correct assessment. “I like literature myself. I may sound like a hick but I always had a thing for Shakespeare. I even quoted Virgil once.”

“Elizabethan and Latin? You really are as PKS depicts.”

“Who is PKS?”

Dani frowned a bit. To Sage it looked like she was confused. It was unusual but the mood change she noticed made a few clear distinctions especially it seemed that maybe the girl was coming down or something but she knew that she wasn’t on drugs. Dani finally replied, “The greatest there was. She is a genius. She said that my idea was so good that it should be put into practice to see if the real CSIs could figure it out.”

Sage gave a slight nod of approval. So there was one more but they had no clue as to who it was. “Is kidnapping a CSI part of the plan too? I am not sure if it is in one of the stories that was laid out so well for us.”

Dani rubbed her eyes again. “In _DC Homicide: Even Trade_ one of the investigators was taken as hostage in exchange for the one who they thought was the suspect but was in fact an innocent bystander or loose end.”

“I remember that one,” Sage replied, “It didn’t end too well in the end but there is a chance for you Dani.”

“No it has to go to the plan.”

“What plan is that?” Sage kept her eyes on the road but was mulling over the possibilities that were available. There was the option of pulling her phone out of her pocket and dialing in to Brass. There was also the possibility that she could take matters into her own hand but with the pressure on the back of her neck, that risk was extremely high since she didn’t know if Dani had a weapon or not. The best thing to do was to find a way to talk her down.

“You know the story,” Dani replied. “You take me to wherever.”

“But I also know that it doesn’t end well. Don’t go that route,” Sage replied shaking her head to emphasize the point. At that moment her cell phone decided to ring.

“What is that?”

“That’s my phone. It’s my partner calling in. If I don’t pick up, he’s going to know that something is wrong.” It was a gamble but Sage hoped that it would work.

Dani pushed her tool against the back of the neck of Sage and thought about it. She looked out the windshield as the phone stopping ringing and the call went to voicemail. The phone rang again.

“See? Since we’re on a case, we have a system.” Maybe it was overplaying the hand a little but Sage needed to convince the girl to let her stop and call it in. She listened to it finish and go to voicemail again. She held the sigh of relief that came when it rang a third time.

“Pull over.”

Sage looked at the girl. The look had changed and Sage knew the girl meant business. She did was she was asked and moved over to get to the side of the road. She put the car in park and looked at the girl. “What now?”

It was a rhetorical question but Sage asked it anyway. Dani responded, “Get out.”

The sound of two doors opened and two pairs of shoes walked into the desert. They crunched on the gravel until they stopped. The only sound that could be heard was the lively silence of the outdoors. The footsteps stopped and a sense of deadly quiet overcame as the next move was calculated next. The next sound that followed was a dull thud of something colliding with the ground and more gravel crunching and the sound of wheels driving away.

****

Brass held the phone to his head and tried to reassure the person at the other end, “Okay so Sage got into her car and there was another person in the car?” He glanced up to make sure that he didn’t run into anyone as he walked through the hall.

_Yes they headed in the direction of Pahrump. The person in the back looked like they were holding a gun or something._

“Okay. Thank you Josephina,” Brass replied. He had been following up on some leads from another case before deciding to head home when he got the call. It was to his direct line and he didn’t recognize the number so he answered it.

He got a scared girl that was probably no more than sixteen calling him and saying that Sage had been taken. It had him suspicious and he questioned the girl about it. It was then she described Sage down to detail and revealed that she had been given the number by Sage that he was convinced. The girl gave details about what had happened and Brass was impressed at the fact that while scared, the girl was giving pretty good details.

The best thing he had was that there was someone suspicious that was in the back seat of the car that was Sage’s and they weren’t there before. Jim knew he had to contact her supervisor and could only imagine what that would cause. He looked through his contacts for Sage’s number and dialed it. It went to voicemail.

Jim sighed, trying not to panic. He tried again and it went to voicemail. Third time wasn’t a charm and he knew he had to call Grissom. He lifted his phone to call when it rang. He checked the caller ID and answered, “Brass.”

The voice on the end had him give a sigh of relief. It didn’t quite come through the Jersey accent and he was using his police voice. “You are where?”

****

“Look I wasn’t trying to be a hero, Jim.”

“And I’m sure you were just trying to talk her down and with a weapon held on you.”

Sage gave a slight sigh as she looked out the window. She shook her head slightly. It had been unnerving when Dani told her to pull over and get out of the car. It felt like it was going to be her last day since she was told to walk off into the wilderness and she followed, making sure to palm her phone. The strange thing was that Dani wasn’t bothered by it so she ran with it. Dani left her there and took the car. She waited a moment before calling the number that called her phone, which turned out to be Brass.

The captain came and picked her up and immediately started asking questions. She looked back at Brass and said, “Jim, she didn’t hurt me and it was my fault I left the window down.”

“Are you sure of that?”

“Jim,” Sage said giving a slight frown.

“Don’t ‘Jim’ me. Parker you were basically kidnapped, probably at gunpoint. I had a scared seventeen year old girl call me to tell me and then you call me like you were enjoying a day out in the park.”

“And I’m fine, Jim. You know I’ve been through this gig before.”

Jim looked at Sage while keeping his eyes on the road. “You’ve been through this before?”

“My line of work and the wild cowboy I was then,” Sage replied. She paused a moment and changed her tone. “It was a case, homicide. I was going to a suspect’s place with my partner. Suspect holds us at gunpoint. He knocked my partner out and then had the gun on me. I know it’s not the same as this but I know what it’s like to have a gun pointed in my face. My first case with Stokes, same thing. If I get a little flippant, it’s not that I don’t care or being glib or whatever… I do care. At the moment though, the only thing you think about is survival.”

Jim let out a sigh. He could see Sage’s point. He had a couple of interesting encounters with suspects and he knew the job. “Well you know I had to call Gil.”

“I figured. He is my supervisor.” Sage sighed and looked up at the ceiling of the Taurus. “You know if they find my car, it’s evidence. Nice way to go green I guess. Field day for my guys.”

“As long as you’re okay.”

Sage looked at Brass. She had detected a certain tone that entered his voice when he spoke. She was curious about it since what happened was obviously a sore point for the captain. Still her relationship was still new and she hesitated.

“You want to know don’t you?”

“What?”

Brass glanced at Sage and explained, “I may not be a CSI but I notice things too. I used to run graveyard before you came. You must have noticed that this was a bit of a sore spot for me.”

“I noticed,” Sage replied with a slight nod. She frowned a bit since she wasn’t quite sure were this was going. “Why do you ask?”

“Come on Parker. I know that once something catches your interest, you pursue it. You work yourself to the bone like Sara to find your answers.” Brass gave a slight smile and glanced at Sage. “It’s your nature even though you do that Southern belle thing by following the rules. Before you came I was in Gil’s position. We had a rookie come on and on her first night she was gunned down. Suspect returned to the scene. We caught the guy but she died.”

“It’s the same when it’s a uni or a detective. One of our own and it stinks,” Sage replied in understanding. “My partner didn’t die in the line of duty but I think the job drove him to it along with other things but still it hurts.”

Brass looked at Sage and they shared a look of understanding. He found it hard to believe though that she had gone through quite a bit and she didn’t appear jaded about the job. She came in with a smile and a look of determination. He had watched as she worked with the other CSIs on Grissom’s team and she had a way of eliciting smiles even from Grissom. “How is it that you can be so cheerful?”

“You know Stokes asked me that once and my answer led to a story that had him probably wondering if I was crazy or not.” Sage gave a slight chuckle as she remembered when she told the story about a priest who encouraged her way of belief and thinking at the age of twelve. “I don’t make a big show of it but I am a Christian. I know it sounds crazy since I’m a scientist and I’ve been around cops who claim it but pay lip service but I do believe. I pray, go to church, study the Bible and I believe that there is a God out there who cares about us.”

“And how does the story of the priest fit into this?”

“Just the fact that he explained that science was another way of explaining God’s work in the world. Radical for a priest but… there you go. The nice thing is that I’m comfortable with it and feel that this is the work I’m meant to do. I may have had some inspiration along the way from family and friends but ultimately I was guided to this.” Sage gave a slight smile. “At least as far as the science goes.”

Brass couldn’t help but chuckle at that. Sage grinned and chuckled with him. The rest of the trip back to the lab went well.

****

“Are you sure?”

Sage nodded as she looked at Grissom, “I’m fine. Brass has an APB on my car and my suspect. Nothing serious. Please don’t pull me from the case.” She didn’t want to resort to begging since that was low. Besides the best way was to show Grissom she could do the job.

Grissom looked at Sage. “You know this seems to be a recurrence with you. First that business with the cartels on your first case, the kidnapping/homicide and now this.”

“You said you’d save the strange ones for me,” Sage replied. She took in Grissom’s stare but wasn’t cowed by it. “Look I didn’t expect that. I was off the clock. My suspect probably had been following me and I figured out a few things plus I did leave my window open. Let me wrap this case up.” She gave Grissom a determined look.

Grissom studied Sage’s determination. It was one of the things he liked about her and her work. She was like Sara in that if she needed to stay up three days straight, she would. Her objectivity he knew wasn’t an issue. Even with that case with the missing child she worked on a few weeks ago, she kept at it. He nodded, “Okay but when they find the car, you don’t touch.”

“I know the drill, Boss. Thank you.”

Sage left Grissom’s office and headed towards the lab. She came into the break room to grab something to drink. She encountered Warrick and Catherine coming back from whatever they were doing and answered their queries to if she was okay or not. Apparently word traveled fast and even the techs came by one by one to ask. It was going to drive her crazy since she wanted to work on the case since there was no question of her going home now.

Picking up her case files she walked through the lab. She came across Greg who was hard at work with what she hoped were her samples from Riley the dog’s teeth. She leaned on the part of the table that was not occupied with equipment, “Are you working on my exemplars from the house?” She peered over at his work.

“Running them now,” Greg replied, looking up. He studied Sage for a moment and then asked, “You okay?”

Sage resisted snapping at him. “You’re not the first to ask me that you know.” She gave a soft smile. She could hardly stay mad with Greg and he didn’t ever really give her a reason to be. Besides they got into a ton of scrapes and fun off the clock. Studying his expression she replied, “I’m fine Greggo. Nothing that an APB on my car won’t cure.”

Greg would have asked more but the beep from the machine caught his attention. He turned just as the report printed out and picked it up. “Well you know that the swabs from killer pooch’s mouth came back a mixture of dog and human, two in fact.”

“So Riley bit two people,” Sage replied in matter of fact, confirming what she knew.

“Yeah. One female and one male. One is from Nick since he was bitten. The other is not related to any known players,” Greg replied nodding.

Sage took the report to read it. “Did you run against Dani Evans?”

“Give me an exemplar and I can run it faster than a marathon.”

“There were none from the bungalow Nick and I collected from?”

Greg shook his head in the negative. “Nothing and I processed what you guys collected though the cat gut was not exactly thrilling. And judging from what Nick commented on, the place was worse than my first apartment and mostly had your dead guy’s stuff around.”

Sage knew that. They took photos of the room but nothing except the book that Nick found. So there really wasn’t anything on Dani Evans since she wasn’t in the system and they wouldn’t have much until they found her. “Well I guess part of the case is to wait until we have something on her.”

“Maybe we do,” Greg replied. Even though he wasn’t a CSI, he was interested and most of the time the CSIs talked about their cases in front of him like he wasn’t there. Sage didn’t do that and often would ask his opinion on something. Nick was the same with that scuba diver that died in the middle of the desert.

“What do you mean?”

“Well you talked to her,” Greg replied. At the look he got, he explained, “Sage, knowing you where I stand, you’re not the kind of person to take something especially when it’s something like being kidnapped. You would be finding out about the person.”

Sage looked at the DNA tech with a raised brow. “You know you’re the second person to actually say something like that to me. Makes me wonder if it’s a sign.”

“Maybe it is.” Greg shrugged his shoulders in the process.

Sage made a slow smile before looking at the report and then looking at some case file notes, “But you’re right. I did talk to her and I am left with suspicions and questions about this case as a whole.”

“Good or bad thing?”

“A bit of both.”

“At least you have one victim alive, right?”

“Yeah and I hope the crack to the skull wasn’t too damaging. Right now Dani is looking at six counts of murder if the evidence puts her there.” She looked up at the technician, “Thanks Greggo.”

“No problem. We still on for tomorrow night?”

“Help me wrap the case,” Sage replied with a smile on her face as she turned to leave the DNA lab to check on something else.


	11. Chapter 11

“If either of you ask me how I’m doing I won’t be sorry about a head slap in the future.”

Sara held up her hands since she wasn’t going to get into this. Nick on the other hand seemed to not be able to help himself and replied, “And I would love to see you try, Slick.”

Sage looked at the CSI who was taller than she was and easily about a hundred pounds on her. She raised her brow and replied, “Don’t tempt me Stokes and I won’t hold back either even with your injury.”

Sara tried not to laugh but the smile threatened. She was always amused at the back and forth Sage and Nick had. It was like watching kids argue over who broke whoever’s toy or something. It was actually a relief though. She thought something was going on since they hadn’t been doing that lately and she wondered if Sage and Nick worked it out.

“It was a mortal wound,” Nick countered. He tried to pout with it while ignore the smirk that crossed Sara’s face.

“Mortal wound puh,” Sage replied with a smirk. “This coming from the guy who insisted on finishing his section of a crime scene.”

Nick knew that this was going to go nowhere but at least he got his answer that his partner was okay. The day she didn’t make a glib comment or assume the next question was the time to start worrying. He replied, “Hey I toughed it out.”

“And you dared to call me a nag you mule.”

In the end all three burst out chuckling and laughing. It made everything that had happened seem not so bad. They could get back to work on locating their suspect and closing the case. Sara said, “It feels like watching kids argue over who did what.”

“Plenty of practice,” Sage replied. “I have a sister.”

“Try six older siblings,” Nick countered.

“I can’t top it except to say that it was all out war with the pranks.” Sage gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. “So anything new on outstanding evidence?” She felt better after the whole thing and it felt good to heckle with Nick again. She felt bad that they hadn’t done it in a while but it appeared that they were still good.

“Just that it seems that the little doll found at Ellen Sue Taylor’s place was made in her likeness,” Sara replied. “I checked the others and not really much to go on.”

“So our killer is getting more creative,” Nick offered.

“It seems that way and it would be consistent with Dani Evans’ intellect ability,” Sage mused. She held her chin with her hand, thinking about what they had. “Anything out of the books from our collection come to mind?”

It was rather difficult to think more of what was going on. Aguilar said that he had someone watching the bookstore to see if Dani showed up. There was the paperwork and reading of the reports that could be done and as much as it was as boring as it sounded, it couldn’t be avoided forever. Sage went on a coffee break since she was in the mood for a pick me up and poured a cup.

She tentatively tasted the brew when Ecklie came in. Sage wasn’t sure of what to make of the CSI that was a brown nose to the extreme. She didn’t doubt that he was good at his job and people did make mistakes but she could see the animosity that existed between Ecklie and Grissom. A couple of times it made the tension thick in the air like smog and threatened to explode. She had stayed away from it except the couple of times the sheriff spoke to her and the grapevine began bearing fruit.

It was all a politics game. She guessed that Ecklie was ambitious in terms of the career ladder and no doubt the way there was ass kicking with a small percentage of competence within the job. For the most part she was glad that she was done with it. Five years, while loving the job, felt like an eternity especially when it came down to the nitty gritty of budgets, assignments, managing the team, etc… It was a pain in the ass.

_Glad that’s over. Ripley can rest in peace now._

She politely acknowledged Ecklie and poured more coffee in her cup. It would do and it was better than motor oil. She wasn’t going to do anything to it like sweeten it. She didn’t need the sugar high.

“So I hear that your car was stolen,” Ecklie began as he poured a cup of coffee. “Must be rough considering…”

“A travesty,” Sage replied taking a sip. She leaned against the wall she was standing next to and blew on the liquid as if it would change the taste some. “They’ll find it.”

“You seem awfully calm about it.”

“Maybe it’s because I’m more concerned in getting the suspect in alive.”

Ecklie took a sip of the coffee. He made a slight face at it and then looked at Sage. He wondered how she could stand the stuff but then again most CSIs didn’t make much of a fuss about the necessary thing that kept them going. “And that’s commendable but what are you going to do in the meantime? I hear that you started with one and then he’s dead and now this Evans girl?”

“Joint effort, Conrad. And it’s where the evidence led us to.”

Ecklie studied Sage. Like others in the lab, he heard of her reputation back east. What he didn’t understand was why she went from a position of supervisor down to a CSI level three and even that was a concession to her experience. He couldn’t help but ask, “Why Parker?”

“Excuse me?”

“Why did you come here and take a step down?”

Sage furrowed her brow slightly at the question. True she had been asked that from people who were curious and not satisfied with what the grapevine produced but it had been a few months. The talk would have died down since then unless they were new hires. Then again there were those that seemed to think that if they waited and then asked… It must be one of those. “A step down?”

“Come on Parker. You were a supervisor. Why would you want to go back to this?”

Sage looked around the lab. She had decided to be intentionally a little funny with her response. She schooled her features as if to search for something wrong. She looked at Ecklie and replied, “Nothing wrong with this.”

Ecklie gave her a look. He could tell right away she was playing around. While she wasn’t like Grissom in terms of dealing with people, she could be just as annoying and left you wondering if you were serious or not. He suspected that she was the one messing with the lab fridges in terms of reorganizing them. It was actually quite good but it threw people off but no one complained. “You know I don’t mean that.”

Sage gave a slight smile, “Conrad, just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean that it’s right for you. Sometimes it takes a while and something happening to make you see it.” She took a sip of her coffee. It was more palpable now. “I was ready for a change.”

“Seems like a waste given your reputation.”

“A reputation is as only good as the work you do without seeking approval.”

“And the less effort you put into playing up to your specialty doesn’t help.”

Sage looked at Ecklie in the eye. “And what good is a specialty when it gets to a point where you are presumed infallible? Sounds egotistical to me.” She finished up her cup.

“I hardly think you’re in danger of developing an ego Parker. Still it’s not a good idea to tell people higher up, especially the sheriff, off if you disagree with them.”

“Not if you do it in the utmost respectful way.” Sage tossed her cup and cleared her throat. “Thanks for the conversation Conrad. Oh by the way, that conference presentation you were asking me about… I’ll help you with it.”

Ecklie raised his brow as Sage went to pick up the file she had set aside on the break room table. True he had asked her if she wanted to participate but she had been about as receptive as an easily distracted tabby. He wasn’t even sure if she had heard him when he suggested it since it did have something on profiling and she was the resident expert on it. Apart from getting to know her better since she was on graveyard, he was hoping to cultivate a relationship that had an in with Grissom since they were like oil and water.

Now he was wondering if he had made a mistake considering that she just now brought it up out of the blue. He replied, “Okay. Anything in particular?”

“Pull up an old case, change a few things and we’ll make it into a demo. They’ll eat it up,” Sage replied in a slightly absent minded fashion as she glanced through her file and then made a notation. “Just memo me when you put something together.”

Ecklie just blinked at the easy dismissal. He replied, “Okay. Better go home and get some rest Parker. You look terrible.”

“Must be my taste in apparel,” Sage countered with a slight smirk.

Ecklie left the break room and Sage gave a slight sigh of relief. She tried to get along with everybody but some people just rubbed the wrong way. She could tell that Ecklie was a good CSI but his personality and personal goals were something that she wasn’t a fan of. She was well aware that Ecklie was a bit of a brown nose and wanted to move up. She was just tired of the politicking but knew enough to be prepared to counter it. Grissom wasn’t one for it and Catherine was there as the right hand man. It seemed logical that Ecklie was going through the new guy. She could play the game and humor Ecklie a little but she would dictate things, which was why she said for him to put it together and then look it over.

Sage looked over the report filed over her carjacking and the statement she gave Brass. At least they got their scolding and contrite looks over and done with in the car. She did admit that she had been stupid to leave her windows rolled down, both of them. The funny thing was the air conditioner worked just fine but something about an open window was appealing. It made it easy for anyone to reach in and open the door from the inside once they figured out that the passenger side sometimes got stuck. There had been plenty of time for Dani to get in since she had been in there talking to Jorge and Josephina.

Being bipolar, as Sage suspected the girl was, didn’t make someone incompetent. It was a mood disorder of a sorts. Of course some of Dani’s ramblings sounded akin to paranoid schizophrenia but Sage was inclined to believe that it was a result of cultist teachings. That would imply that there was a fourth person that was a part of this and possibly the ringleader. If that were so, that meant that the person had a high level of charisma. The talk with Lady Heather helped push that idea along but so far there was little to no evidence backing that; most of it pointed towards Dani.

It had Sage frowning as she rounded the corner and actually would have run into Greg, who was getting ready to leave for shut eye. She was stopped by his grabbing her upper arms and saying, “Whoa there. Trying to bulldoze your private road?”

Sage had looked up the moment Greg grabbed her and was startled by the sudden stop. It took her a moment and she replied, “Sorry Greggo. Usually it’s Stokes that gets my attention.”

Greg couldn’t help but smirk at her word choice. He teased her, “So he is prettier than me then?”

“What?” Sage realized what Greg had implied after she thought about what she said. She smacked Greg with the closed folder. “Stop that you gremlin.”

“But you still love me,” Greg replied leaning forward with his hands behind his back in a suggestive manner. He smiled as he said it, his dirt blonde locks looking like he had tumbled out of bed. He moved his hand from behind his back and held up his fist.

Sage replied, “Yes I do.” She returned the gesture with a fist bump. She finished it with a ruffle to the hair and ignored the curious stares. “Thanks Greggo.”

“Always here for ya.”

Sage just smiled. She then took notice of Greg’s attire and questioned, “You off?”

“Yeah. Need a hot meal and shut eye. You camping out here?”

Sage shrugged her shoulders. She could do that. “Either that or take the bus.”

“Let me give you a lift. Treat you to a late breakfast…” Greg took the folder out of her hand and put it at his station in his basket. It would be safe there until next shift.

Sage thought about it for a moment. She really didn’t want to push her luck with someone else making food. She replied, “How about I make you breakfast. Can’t tempt fate now can we?” She gave a slight smile.

Greg was grinning wide as he whirled Sage around and pushed her towards the exit. He sounded like an excited kid ushering her out. She just smiled, humoring him and occasionally protesting that she had two feet and calling him a gremlin. It just happened that Nick had been looking for her and was going to offer her a ride to her place when he saw her leave with Greg. For a moment he felt a pang of disappointment.

****

“Pomegranate and cranberry?” Greg held up the glass of juice he had been given with a raised brow. He leaned against the counter divider, half on and half off the stool seat he had taken. He watched as Sage mixed up a batch of eggs in a bowl, sloshing the contents vigorously.

“Antioxidants and I like the taste,” Sage replied looking at Greg while her hands were occupied. “Meemaw Parker taught me how to make it after she gave me some when I was sick. Since then I make a batch here and there. A nice substitute to the wine and beer.” She put the whisk into the sink after rinsing it off.

“That’s nice,” Greg commented as he tasted the juice. It was pretty good. “This is good.”

“Tastes even better with an omelet. You want a meat lover’s?” Sage poured her egg mixture into the pan and looked up at Greg. The pile of bacon she had fried to go into the omelet she had planned turned out to be a little too much.

“The bacon’s fine.”

Sage went to work making a bacon omelet. Like her job, she gave her full attention to cooking but it was different in that it was soothing and relaxing. She whipped it up and had the bacon tucked in with the cheese and turned to cut a few slices of avocado. When she was done, she had an omelet about the size one would serve in a diner with an avocado flower of slices neatly on top. She put it in front of Greg on the counter and whipped herself up one.

Greg looked down at the simple meal. It was simple but presented like it was a gourmet dinner. He was startled when she refilled his glass of juice and it was then he realized that the place was actually set for eating and one was on the opposite side. He said, “You always cook like you’re expecting guests?”

“Not always,” Sage replied as she turned her eggs. “Just something that is like my Southern manners. I was taught to present food to guests so… I just automatically do it. When it’s myself I act as much a slob as anyone does when they’re too tired or whatever.”

“It’s nice,” Greg commented. He certainly felt like he was royalty. Even the utensils were organized. “You want me to pour you a glass of juice?”

“I got it,” Sage replied as she motioned for Greg to sit back down. She put a glass on the counter and poured some of her juice and set it at its place on the counter. “Eat,” she motioned at Greg.

“Can I wait for my hostess?”

Sage looked up and gave a smile, “It’s okay Greg. You must be starving and it doesn’t taste all that great when it gets cold.”

“Please?” Greg gave a slight look that could be considered puppy dog eyes and it caused Sage to almost laugh but make a face to indicate that it was cute.

“Alright.” Sage smiled hiding the chuckle that threatened from his puppy eyes.

She finished her omelet and had prepared it in the same manner as she did Greg’s and put it at her place. It was automatic for her to fold her hands and say a blessing over the food and was surprised a little when Greg answered with an ‘amen’. She looked up and he replied, “I used to go sometimes.”

“Enjoy.”

That was what Greg did. The first bite with the avocado was delicious. To him it was just the right amount of cheese, bacon and egg. The avocado was like the gravy that sweetened the pot. “This is really good Sage.” He motioned excitedly with his fork.

Sage hummed a response as she chewed a bite as she watched Greg dig in. She remembered another time a long time ago… when Cassie was maybe four and she cooked ‘breakfast’. It hadn’t been the best and Sage could hardly fathom how they both ate her concoction and still managed to live.

“Are you on a diet?”

Sage looked at Greg. “What?”

“You’ve barely had maybe five bites. Are you on a diet?” Greg motioned towards her plate.

Sage looked down and realized that she had been doing it again. “No, not a diet. Just remembering back when me and Cassie were kids.”

“Must be nice having a sibling.”

“Depends on how you look at it,” Sage replied with a teasing smile as she picked up her fork to eat. “She may do stupid things but I still love her; defend her to the death.”

“No wonder you’re a fierce tiger in the lab,” Greg teased. “It’s nice.”

Sage remembered that Greg told her that he had no siblings. She had regarded Greg more than a close friends over the months that she had been working at the lab. They could talk what she referred to as geek speak for hours on end and understand each other perfectly. It was sort of like how she could talk to Nick without saying a word. “You ever wish that you had a sibling?”

“I used to since Mom wanted to keep me close all the time.” Greg toyed with what was left of his omelet. “I don’t think I want to tell her about my thinking about going into the field. I can just imagine what she might do.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Sage replied, “But eventually it could turn into a lie and little lie, big lie… You’re still thinking about it. Decide what you’re gonna do and then do it. Then you decide whether or not to say anything. Nice thing about being an adult huh?” She gave Greg a slight smile as she noticed the yawn.

“I guess.” Greg tried to stifle a yawn but he was exhausted. “I guess I better go home. I don’t want to wear out my welcome.”

“You never will Greggo.” Sage collected the empty plates and put them in the sink. “If you want, you can crash on my couch. No worries.”

“Thanks, Sage.”

“Anytime lil brother.”

****

_You sure it’s the Charger?_

“Yeah I am Parker and I got a surprise for you,” Brass replied as he looked into the back seat of his Taurus at the passenger sitting there. The night air was surprisingly cool and there was a slight breeze.

_Suspect?_

“Yep and she gave herself up.”

_Great. Sara and Nick are on their way. They should be there any minute._

As if on cue, the Tahoe carrying the CSIs pulled up. Brass couldn’t help but give a slight smirk. “You sure know how to time things Parker.”

_Not really. I just listened to dispatch and Hector filled me in._

Brass gave a slight nod. He now had figured out what was going on. He wasn’t going to say anything since it wasn’t his business but he knew that Sage would be okay. “The kid’s good. Alright, I’ll have the car towed when your guys are finished and you do your thing.”

_More likely you’ll do your thing. See ya at the station, Jim._

Brass hung up and looked at Sara and Nick as they came with their kits. As much as he would have liked to have Sage there on the scene he knew that since it was her property and the events that happened, it was better to have it catalogued by another CSI. He relayed the information, “Car was spotted heading towards WLVU and was pulled over for excessive speeding of all things. Officer recognized the plates and called it in.”

“Suspect?” Sara looked at Brass while Nick took out his flashlight to take a look at the car.

“In custody. I’ll take her back to the station,” Brass replied as he motioned towards the Taurus.

Sara glanced down and saw the girl Dani Evans. She recognized her from the DMV photo they pulled. The girl looked exhausted and a bit scared; definitely not the kind of person who was often pictured to be a killer. Then again there were killers that just blended right in. “Anything confiscated?”

“She’s all yours.”

In the meantime Nick looked over the Charger and gave a slight wince at the shape she was in. She was covered in dirt from the road and he thought that he detected a couple of scratches with transfer on them. Putting his case down, he pulled out his camera and took some reference photos with it. He then proceeded to the interior and almost wanted to moan.

There was the bag of food from the taco joint that Sage said she stopped at. It was empty and it looked like the food had been eaten but the remains were on the passenger side of the floor. He grimaced since it reminded him of a college friend who treated his car that way plus the fact that he didn’t want to tell Sage that she was going to need a good detailing service if and when she got her car back.

There were some other things in the car that looked like they belonged to the suspect and not Sage. Sage’s stuff had been found in the back seat upended and all over the place. He noted the contents and set about bagging and tagging those.

“Find anything?”

“Other than the serious crime of defacing this beauty?” Nick looked at Sara who was smirking at him. “Not yet. Check the passenger door for anything.”

“Why the passenger door?”

“Parker likes to leave that window rolled down. The door’s handle on the outside sticks sometimes. We might be able to pull a few prints.”

“On it.” Sara knew that she had to look for more too. She showed her light to look for obvious signs of disturbance. Nick was right in that the window was rolled down. Even Sage admitted that it was stupid to do.

Moving her light, Sara saw something on the handle on the inside of the car. It looked like blood. Taking the swab, she dabbed it and then did the field test. It didn’t look good. “I got blood.”

Nick in the meantime had found what could have been the ‘weapon’ to take Sage hostage. It was a curling iron but he could see how the end could be assumed to be a gun. He examined it and noticed something unusual too. It was monogramed and there was a discoloration. He swabbed it and did his field test. “I got it too on the thing used to take Parker hostage.”

“A curling iron?”

“Not seeing it, can give the illusion of a gun,” Nick replied. “I’m more concerned about the blood in the car.”

“We’ll need Parker’s as an exemplar.”

“Nah. She would get out and walk before letting a drop get on the seat.”

“I would think that would be you,” Sara teased briefly. She looked at the interior. “Well I’ll call auto to have it towed. And the blood was on the handle and your ‘weapon’.”

“Please don’t tell me detail need to pop the trunk,” Nick countered with a pitiful expression. “Can’t we use the keys?”

Sara couldn’t help but chuckle at Nick’s behavior over the car. Sage had seemed worried over the state of her car and was hiding behind professionalism. Nick looked like he had been wounded at the mention of defacing the car. She didn’t get it but it was amusing as she kept her thoughts to herself while they finished processing the car.


	12. Chapter 12

“You know you don’t have to go in,” Brass intoned.

“I’m the primary Jim,” Sage replied. She looked at Dani as she looked around interrogation. The girl hadn’t invoked the right to counsel and had been made aware of her rights. Sage wasn’t sure of what to think about that since the girl was obviously intelligent. “My job.” She looked at the captain.

“Well I’ll be waiting for you. You know the drill,” Brass replied as he went into interrogation.

Sage continued to study the girl through the glass. Her face was in a mask of consternation as she ran through the evidence they collected. She rubbed her forefinger on her chin as she thought about the events that happened.

“You sure you want to do this?”

Sage didn’t look at Nick but replied, “Got to be done.” She shrugged her shoulders and glanced at the file folder that she had. “Aren’t you supposed to be helping Sara with the car?”

Nick looked at Sage and replied, “I’ll head over there but if you don’t want to do this that’s cool. I know what you told Brass but you don’t always got to be the tough girl.”

“Not trying to be Stokes.” She could see that Nick wasn’t convinced so she added, “This is nothing new. Like I said when we decided to flex our muscles when we first met… You know?” She raised her brow to prompt him to answer.

Nick knew what she was talking about. He resisted the urge to scowl at that. “That’s hardly the same thing.”

“Maybe not the circumstances but the concept is,” Sage countered. She sighed a bit when she recognized that look that said he was annoyed or in a bad mood. “Hey, no frowns Stokes. I’ve had worse and one involved keeping the bad guys off your sorry ass.” She gave a slight smile at it.

Nick couldn’t help but shake his head to hide the smile that threatened. Yeah that was the case though a little embellished when they work their first case together. He hardly thought that would apply to the moment since she was car jacked and kidnapped… sort of… He wanted to be sure that she was okay with talking to the suspect. He watched as she walked in with that calm, distracted air she had when she was in thought or giving that impression.

Peering through the glass, he watched as she took a seat across from Dani Evans and did the basic introductions. She appeared to be okay and that sat okay with him. His lips made a slight twitch as they talked. He knew he should be helping Sara with the car but he wanted to stay.

In the meantime, Sage looked at the girl. She appeared calm and composed and for the most part like she was there as part of a social event. While it appeared like cooperation, Sage wasn’t going to let her guard down.

“You know, I turned myself in.”

“That’s what the report says not to mention you were driving a vehicle that was put out on alert.”

Dani shrugged her shoulders in an ‘oh well’ gesture. She looked at Sage and then at Brass. Finally she said, “Why not cut to the chase? I didn’t kill those women or the kid.”

“We know you didn’t,” Sage replied. She pulled out what she wanted to show Dani. “We found your fingerprints though on the books that had been placed at the scene. We also found your prints on the knife that killed Hefty and the nice club you used to hit Ellen Sue Taylor.”

Dani shrugged her shoulder. “I messed up.”

“Messed up?” Brass was incredulous at the thought.

“I made a mistake but PKS knows the truth. PKS said that my solution to grab her attention was ingenious.”

Sage was well aware that Brass probably thought Dani was psychotic. The girl wasn’t. She was calm and appeared to know exactly what she was talking about. “So you were the one that set up the scenes?”

“An appreciation for works of art. Few people can capture the essence of crime like PKS and we all liked the fact that it was better than any of the others read in the Homicide Society.” Dani folded her hands in front of her. “They all follow one story with parts from others that are good. The idea was to make the greatest crime scene of all but also honoring PKS.”

Sage studied the girl. “So you planned out the Homicide Society murders. Were the others just collateral damage?”

“No. It was a message for PKS. It is a story that will be told. The ending will really be nice.”

Sage decided to play along. The girl was going to refer to stories and she seemed more cooperative in that mode. “Ending?”

“Follow the evidence. I know this too since I study criminal justice.”

“We found blood on the curling iron that you used to obtain the vehicle. You wanna tell me about that?” Sage suspected that there was one more crime scene left for them to find. She hated playing a cat and mouse routine and it did answer questions about why it took that long to find the car and the state it was in when it was found.

“More evidence for you… I cut myself.”

Sage had done a cursory glance at Dani when she walked in. She hadn’t seen anything to indicate injury of any sort. She gave a hard stare at the girl. “I can compel a DNA sample to compare. It will tell me if you’re lying or not.”

“You need a warrant then. I may volunteer things but I won’t do that.” Dani crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in her seat.

“We will then,” Brass replied. The change in disposition was a bit disconcerting but he took his cue from Sage. If she hadn’t been a CSI, she could’ve been a cop and probably made detective by now.

“Go ahead,” Dani dared. She looked at Sage. It looked like the woman wasn’t impressed at all with anything she said. She briefly had a thought about a character that acted in a similar manner as the CSI in front of her. This was getting better and better. “You think I’m crazy.”

“No,” Sage replied in a matter of fact tone. “I can tell that you are fairly intelligent, probably honor roll in school. You are smart but not geek smart hence the boyfriend Hefty which also tells me that you like a little bit of danger in there as well given Hefty’s reputation. Your passion is crime novels and you have membership to the Homicide Society like Jean Alcott. You are also bipolar, undiagnosed, which explains your mood disorders. Anything I miss?”

“Pretty good. What makes you think that I’m crazy?”

“Never said you were. I merely hint at the possibility of bipolar which is a mood disorder. You also are compulsory in terms of maintaining neatness. Your space in the house showed that and that indicates to me that you are detail oriented in most major aspects of your life.” Sage almost smiled a bit smug at her assessment but hid it by tapping her forefinger on the table.

“So you know about me. Still you don’t know how this story ends.”

“You could tell me.”

“Get your warrant for your DNA swab.”

Sage knew that this was over. They weren’t going to get much more out of the girl. She seemed to be determined to make this difficult. She did reply, “Alright. Just… would PKS say that your plan worked?”

“I drew it up but she came up with it.”

Brass made a slight sound as he stepped back. He let Sage be the first one to get up and go through the door but she stopped when the girl said, “There is one more. It will bring about interesting memories that one would wish to forget.”

Sage looked at the girl with a hard stare before leaving interrogation. She put her finger to her chin to think about it. Brass asked, “So what do you think? Crazy?”

“She’s not crazy,” Sage replied. She looked at Nick who was still at the station and shot him a look. “She’s bipolar. Big difference. And I think there is a fourth person involved.”

“Yeah PKS,” Brass said, “But do you have any evidence?”

The reply was forestalled when Brass’ cell phone rang. He went to answer it and Sage and Nick turned to conversation. Nick asked, “So you’re serious about her?” He motioned towards Dani with his head.

“From what I can see. She’s not crazy and I’ve seen crazy people,” Sage replied. She frowned as she looked at the girl. “Thing is I don’t think she could have pulled this off on her own.”

“What tipped you off to that?”

“The way she referred to PKS. I figure she is referring to Sarre.”

“You saying that an author put her up to this?”

Sage resisted getting indignant over that. She shook her head, “Not the author. I checked with the publishing company about unusual threats or anything about the author and nothing probative. I think someone assumed the moniker and put together a band of kids to commit murder. Someone that is highly charismatic.”

“We don’t have any evidence for that.”

“I know.”

At that moment Brass came back, “Well maybe your day just might get better. I got a call for a 419, a possible 405.”

“Suicide?” Sage frowned at that.

“Yeah,” Brass confirmed. “Possible because the responding officer found something that indicated otherwise.”

At that moment a noise came from the other side of the glass. Dani had approached the window and tapped on it. She shouted but it sounded muffled, “Didn’t want to leave you hanging now. Don’t let it be a long stretch.”

The girl was put back in her seat by the officer in the room. Sage processed as best as she could everything they transpired. She looked at Nick who merely said, “Need a lift?”

****

The neighborhood was a nice one. Homes for families and good schools. It was the epitome of suburbia. The only thing that marred it was the collection of police vehicles and the coroner’s van parked in front of a nice two story. One more was added to the collection of cars as a Tahoe pulled up and ejected two CSIs complete with field kits.

Sage led the way, lugging her kit and was followed closely by Nick. The call came as a possible suicide but it seemed that there were more suspicions than clear cut answers. Plus there was the fact that their suspect Dani knew about it and quite possibly carried it out.

The responding officer came up and Sage started asking the questions. In the meantime, Nick glanced around as he listened to the responses. First things first though. They had to talk to David. “How did the call come in?” Sage glanced at the officer.

“Neighbor called it in. Noticed that she hadn’t left at her usual time to go to work. Went over to check, found the body by peeking through the window and called it in,” the responding officer replied.

“Did you see anything when you secured the scene?”

“The body was hanging but the room looked like there was a sign of struggle.”

Sage gave a hum as she entered the house. Apart from the fact that it was a crime scene, it was a really nice house. It was one she would have bought provided she had the inclination and the money. She looked all around while fishing out her penlight. She walked forward slowly as she looked around.

The officer was right in that there was something that happened here. There were signs of struggle and she was thankful that the officer was astute enough to see that and not write it off as a suicide. Looking around, even though there was stuff on the ground, the house felt vaguely impersonal, almost like one of those museums.

David was with the body and greeted them. Sage gave an absent minded wave so as not to be rude to the assistant coroner with whom she shared a joke every now and then. Her attention was focused on the body. Her light shone on it and she could feel her skin tingle.

She had been called out to suicide scenes before. She had seen the ways that people came up with to kill themselves. If it weren’t so morbid, some of them were rather creative especially when they did it so their spouse or loved one could benefit from a life insurance policy. This one though, it sent a chill through her as she recalled one case that hit hard.

Hiding her discomfort, she flashed her light on the face. She recognized her instantly and said, “Joan Carson.”

“What?” Nick frowned and looked to where Sage’s light was shining. He saw the face and his mouth opened a little. “I’ll be damned.”

Sage blinked before looking down. She looked at David who was looking up at the both of them and asked, “You got a time of death?”

“Judging from rigor and lividity, I estimate between one and two this afternoon.”

“Puts it before she was picked up,” Nick muttered. “I’ll get started with the room if that’s okay with you?”

“Go ahead,” Sage replied in a sort absent minded fashion. She was still studying the body, creating a mental picture of the scene in her mind. The chill that she had felt returned and she repressed the shudder that threatened.

Nick gave a look of concern and walked over to start processing the room the body was in. He pulled out his camera and began photo documenting everything which was a bit second nature while contemplating on his partner’s behavior. This was the girl that could look at a soupy decomp with as much fascination as Grissom did his bugs and yet he got the distinct impression that Joan Carson’s dead body freaked her out on some level.

It was tempting to pry but they had a job to do. So he was doing it while leaving Sage with the body. He worked his way around the room, collecting evidence that would tell what happened here. It was easy to jump to the conclusion that Dani Evans did it. The way how the girl said her last comments in interrogation hinted at that and he suspected that Sage thought the same. He just couldn’t quite buy it that Dani was working with someone else who was running the show and while he didn’t understand the intricacies of psychoanalysis, he trusted Sage’s opinion on it.

Moving around, Nick bagged and tagged things that looked like they had been broken in a struggle. His search led him to a bookcase that had been standing in the room. The bottom shelves had heavy leather bound books that looked almost like musty law books. One was missing from the shelf; he could tell by the dust disturbance and looked for it. He found it on the ground and it had a spattering of blood on it.

Taking a swab, he bagged and tagged the lot. He looked up to see Sage cutting the body down, leaving a good distance of rope between the cut and the knot. He asked, “Does the vic have any sign of blunt force trauma?”

“Back of the head,” Sage replied as she helped David with the two assistants lower the body.

“Think I might have found the weapon,” Nick said in anticipation to the unasked question. He looked at it and read the title. It was a book on criminal law and he made a slight sound. Joan Carson wasn’t a lawyer but she had law books. Setting it aside, he turned back to the shelf and looked at the ones that were chest level with him. Within a few moments, he learned the reason for the law books.

Sage had stayed with the body and processed anything she could get off of it. She did manage to find a worry doll on the body in the pocket of the suit jacket that the victim was wearing. Like the others, there was something on them that was related to the victim like the appearance. She bagged and tagged it along with some hair and fingernail scrapings. Perhaps there was something underneath the fingernails that could indicate who the attacker was.

There were some defensive wounds, mostly in the shape of bruises on the hands and knuckles. It was something to think about since cursory glances at Dani showed no signs of a physical altercation. The knot to the noose was interesting and a closer look just sent more of that chill down her spine. She photographed it and marked where to cut since she wanted to preserve the knot. When she was ready she called, “Ready Dave?”

“Ready when you are Parker.”

Sage nodded and proceeded to cut the rope. Gravity did its thing and the body fell into the arms of the assistants. She helped by holding the length until they had the body on the gurney. She took David aside and said, “When you get her there, special processing okay?”

“Okay.”

“Oh and be careful when removing the noose.”

“No problem.”

“Thanks Dave.”

The body was wheeled out, leaving the scene. Sage had already heard about the weapon that was used for the BFT on the vicitm’s head. That along with the injuries indicated that Joan fought her attacker. There was no sign of forced entry so that meant that Joan knew her attacker and probably didn’t see it coming. The blows to the head were to subdue the victim and then the killer strung her up from the banister and gravity did the rest in cutting off the airflow.

It sounded very out of place from the others. She hadn’t really seen any signs that this was a related case except for the word of a bipolar suspect who sounded like she was crazy especially in her fascination with crime novels. The only consistent thing so far was the worry doll and that was their connection. When she found it on the body it was in a fairly obvious place which was probably part of the reason why it wasn’t declared a 405 apart from the mess. However, even she knew that the mess didn’t necessarily mean that it was homicide either as she recalled one case with a similar lookout of the scene.

As she looked around the area where the body was, the scene was becoming eerily familiar to her. The chills that hit her spine refused to go away. Like the other scenes, it was familiar and she couldn’t help but wonder a few things. She went up to the banister where the other end of the knot was and looked at it and found it to be similar to the knot on the noose end

Standing at the top of the stairs, Sage looked down and noticed something. There were shoe impressions, at least the outline of shoes. They didn’t match the shoes from the victim and they fell off her feet when she was strung up. Grabbing electrostatic unit, she went to work lifting two good shoe impressions. She gave a slight twitch of a smile as she looked at them and labeled them accordingly and judging from the size, they were smaller than the victim’s feet and averaged about Dani’s shoe size but she would need to compare them to the girl’s shoes to make sure.

She went over the banister with her powder looking for any physical evidence. She found some good prints and lifted them. The more she processed, Sage got the feeling that some of this evidence had been left behind a bit too easily. She wasn’t going to quibble in that it made the job easier to determine the who, what, when, where of the case. Yet something told her that this was done purposely; that it was meant to catch the one responsible. “Hey Stokes, how are things looking downstairs?”

“Pretty good. Found a hair care kit that matches the monogram on the curling iron we collected,” Nick called up. He had looked over the bookcase and didn’t know whether or not to laugh or chortle. Their victim was an avid reader like the others. He found books related to the ones that had elements in the crime scenes as well as a few he had never heard of.

Sage frowned a bit as she thought about it. Mostly what came to mind was the case that she had been reminded of and the circumstances to the evidence collection there. She stood up and looked around and tried to visualize the scene. It was a bit difficult since her eyes started watering again and the two cases seemed to superimpose on each other. It was tempting to rub her eyes but she had to think. Then it hit her.

She walked down the stairs, careful to avoid doing anything that would disturb the scene unnecessarily and walked to stand directly under the dangling rope. She faced the direction the body was facing and slowly looked around as she remembered where she had seen this before. When she stopped, she was looking at Nick who was inspecting a credenza near the door. She blinked to make sure she had it right when Nick said that he found something.

Leaving her position and walking over towards her partner she peered over his shoulder, “What do you have?”

Nick had been looking around and had noticed a void in the wall indicating that a piece of furniture had been there. He looked around and found it by the door and walked towards it. The size and shape matched so he took a few photos and inspected the surfaces.

He found that the lock had been jimmied on it and slowly pulled the drawer open. That was when he found the connection to the other scenes. He called over to Sage saying that he found something. He shifted to let her see when she gently put her hand on his shoulder to take a peek and motioned with his light.

It was another _DC Homicide_ novel lying face up in the middle of the drawer. Nick read the title, “ _Fallen Blue_. I know this one.”

“Yeah the dirty cop commits suicide rather than own up,” Sage replied as she cleared her throat. She looked closer and noticed something sticking out of the edge. “There’s a loose sheet in there.”

“Let me photograph it.”

Sage waited until Nick was done before slowly opening it in place to where she saw the sheet. It was a page from another book. It had been tucked right into the part where it described the suicide by hanging. It was the last page to the last chapter of _Sibling for Hire_. “Making a point. The last page of the last chapter of _Sibling for Hire_ tucked within _Fallen Blue_ ; two stories blended. We are being told the answer.”

“Yeah I see. The siblings are dead by the end of the book hence Joan Carson, Hefty and Jean Alcott. The scene was pulled from another,” Nick nodded as he looked at the page. He peered closer and said, “I think there might be a print on this paper. May I?”

Sage handed the paper to Hick and he sprayed it and the print came up in pink. She turned back to the book, carefully marking the place where the page had been inserted and looked at it. She picked it up and that was when she saw the inside cover. It had been scrawled on with a message that she read and she could feel her brow rise slightly. She didn’t know what to make of it except that it clearly identified their killer and a slight taunting message.


	13. Chapter 13

Sage stood at the reception desk, signing something that needed to be signed while she rubbed her eyes. They had been watering something fierce since the last crime scene and she put some drops in when she got the chance. She figured it was because she was tired and disconcerted by this whole case even though it was pretty much over.

With the evidence they collected, it was clear, at least to the DA, that Dani Evans was the mastermind. She and Sara and Nick were able to determine that Dani planned out the Homicide Society murders. She had it figured that Jean and Hefty were recruited with Jean doing the reenactment since she was known for that and Hefty interrupted. Dani met them afterwards and Jean died and then Hefty and then the attack on Ellen Sue Taylor.

It was clear cut and good. Yet Sage wasn’t fully convinced. She had been musing about it when Catherine came up on her and asked, “Hey what has you down? I heard you guys got your suspect.”

“We did,” Sage replied.

“Well you certainly sound happy about it,” Catherine mused as she took in the almost spaced out disappointed look on Sage’s face.

“I am. Perhaps there is some justice for the Butler kid,” Sage admitted.

“But you’re not convinced?”

Sage looked at the older woman for a moment and then replied, “Not really.”

“You’re thinking another suspect?”

“Yes. The suspect is intelligent and honor student at WLVU but just…”

“Any evidence?”

“No.”

“Then go with what you got,” Catherine replied being straight up with Sage. “Don’t go making suppositions and theories. It’ll get you in trouble and I think you know the holy trinity Grissom is always pushes on us; if you don’t have the evidence don’t go making accusations. That’s the defense attorney’s purview.”

“Tell me about it.”

After that, Sage agreed to not say anything more about it. Catherine gave her a pat on the shoulder and told her to keep up the good work in her encouraging manner. “Sometimes you need to stop over analyzing things Parker. Have a little fun.”

Sage had raised her brow at that. It was then that she noticed Catherine was grinning at her. She couldn’t help but laugh with her. “Alright Cath.”

Shift was over now she was just taking care of a few last minute things. She signed the last thing that needed to be signed and handed them over. “Here you go Judy.”

Judy accepted the last of the paperwork only to slide another few sheets. She said, “Here’s the paperwork you were waiting on Dr. Parker.”

Sage felt her lips twitch in a slight smile. Judy was always polite with her. Sage liked the girl and would always try to say hello when she walked in to shift. She accepted the paperwork and scanned them after blinking the wateriness and figured she must be more tired than she thought. She went down the first page and asked, “Judy they coming?”

“Yes. They’ll take the paperwork then.”

Sage went back to reading it and making the necessary marks. She was in the middle of the last two pages when Nick came up and said, “Hey, thought you’d be gone already.”

“In my baby yes,” Sage replied.

“Thought you’d hitch a ride with Greg.” Nick leaned against the counter trying to see what she was working on.

“Already left. Besides I had some business to take care of.” Sage ran her finger down the wording, reading every word.

“Hey I thought we were done with the case.”

“Oh it’s not related to the case… well… maybe a little.”

Nick thought that she was going on with her theory that there was a fourth person involved. He was willing to believe her but they just didn’t have any evidence. It had him wonder if she was takng this case a little too personal. “You’re not pursuing that other angle now are ya? You know that there is no basis for it.”

“Nope. Catherine told me to get a life.” Sage gave a slight smile. “So I am.”

Nick frowned in confusion. He wasn’t sure about where this was going at the moment. “Uh-huh. Okay so… you wanna get some breakfast?”

“I’m actually waiting for someone and I doubt he’ll be allowed wherever we would go,” Sage replied.

Nick felt a pang of disappointment that she was refusing but she had a good excuse. “I thought you said Greg already left.”

Sage looked up at Nick with an incredulous look. “Greggo? What gave you that impression?” She gave a slight chuckle as she capped her pen.

“Well I…”

At that moment Sage interrupted by saying ‘excuse me’ and walked over with her paperwork to where Animal Control was holding onto a dog leash. Nick recognized the dog right away and blinked a bit while she handed over the paperwork and thanked them. She took the leash and walked back and said, “Do you know any pickup window joints for breakfast?”

“You were waiting for a dog?”

“Yeah,” Sage replied as she kneeled to rub the dog’s head.

“Isn’t that the dog that was at the crime scene and bit me?”

“Yeah. He was cleared and I had petitioned to take ownership of him since there was no one else. He would have just gone to a shelter and I figured why not. I was thinking of getting a dog once I settled in. Riley is good.” Sage rubbed the dog’s head and grinned when he put a paw in the crook of her arm and attempted to get up to lick her face.

Nick watched as Sage smiled and almost laughed with the dog. He was surprised how instantly the dog was willing to obey her when she told him that he needed to get down. He eyed the dog warily and replied, “Yeah until he decides you’re lunch.”

“Actually Irish terriers are very people friendly. They make good protectors if trained properly,” Sage corrected as she straightened out. She reached to pick up her bag and slung it over her shoulders. “He was just protecting what was his.” She shrugged her shoulders.

Nick was skeptical about that but it seemed like nothing bad was going to happen. Besides when she patted the dog and gave the commands, it obeyed. It looked like it was going to be okay. “Alright. I guess you got a dog.”

“Yep and we’re heading home.”

“What do you plan on doing? Walk all the way home? Can’t take the bus,” Nick pointed out.

“That’s what cabs are for,” Sage countered. She gave a slight grin in a challenging fashion. “Getting a little slow there Stokes. I think _you_ need to go home. I’m dancing circles with a dog around you.”

“Is that a challenge, Parker?” Nick took a step forward with a raised brow.

Sage let him into her space and looked up at him. She replied, “No. Just being bossy even if we are finished with the case. I need to make a call now.” She turned and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Do what?”

“Call for a cab. I’ll give ya and Riley a lift.”

Sage looked up from her phone with a sort of wide eyed and surprised look. “You don’t have to.”

“It’s okay. Come on.” Nick gave her a slight push out towards the lot towards his truck.

“Stokes, it’s fine. I used to walk everywhere before I came here,” Sage replied as she managed to skirt away. “And once I attempted suicides up and down the Lincoln Memorial. It’s okay.” She noticed the look starting to appear on his face and added, “But I do appreciate the offer. Thank you.”

Nick looked at Sage as if he expected her to do something else. He noticed that she was quick to do anything with Greg and whatever they did but resisted slightly with others. It was something to think about but he wasn’t going to worry about it as he opened the door to his truck and let her get in while he put Riley in the back. Once he was on the driver’s seat he said, “I know a place for breakfast that Riley would be okay in.”

“Okay.”

While they were driving Sage mused out the window while Riley lounged on the back seat and stared out the window. She was quiet until they pulled up to a walk up stand that served breakfast. As they were sitting at one of the tables, she watched Nick feed a piece of sausage to Riley, she said, “I didn’t think that you liked dogs.”

“Oh I like em,” Nick replied as he grinned at Riley’s satisfied doggy smile from the sausage. “I grew up with them. We always had at least three running around.” He rubbed Riley’s head and was surprised when the dog put a paw on his knee.

“He likes you.”

“Just the food.”

Sage snorted a little and it changed into a laugh. “Nah.” She laughed some more when Riley turned on the begging look towards Nick. “More like he thinks you’re a pushover.”

“Yeah no dice,” Nick replied looking down at Riley.

Sage smiled as she gave a snap of her fingers. Riley immediately dropped to the ground and lay down. She gave him a bacon bit for being a good boy. She looked up to see Nick giving her a look and she said, “I like dogs. Last dog I had was when I was six. Being a military brat, you move around a lot. Desilu was a gift from an old friend of Daddy’s and she was a good dog.”

“Desilu?”

“Her mother was called Lucy,” Sage replied with a slight shrug to indicate that it was no problem. “After she died, we didn’t get another one but there were the neighbors’ dogs as well as those of the other kids.”

“Yeah but Riley listened to you like when you boss the lab techs,” Nick countered.

“I don’t boss. I help out,” Sage corrected. “This last case… that was bossing.”

They talked some more until Nick pulled up to Sage’s condo and she invited him in for coffee but he declined politely. She was getting ready to get out when he asked, “Seriously Parker, are you still having second thoughts about the case?”

“We followed the evidence and we got our suspect,” Sage replied. “Anything else is speculation and gut feelings and that’s not very scientific.”

“I was there when you questioned Dani Evans,” Nick countered as he adjusted his position in the truck to look at her. “You specifically pointed out certain things like the fact that she was manipulated or something into doing this. Something must have told you otherwise.”

“My assessment is what it was when I told her what I knew about her,” Sage replied after thinking about what to say. “Dani Evans is I believe an undiagnosed bipolar person. When she held me up, she was in the middle of a manic episode. She was tired like she hadn’t slept in days and she was coming down from it. Bipolar is a mood disorder and is difficult to diagnose and way different from say schizophrenia.”

“And I remember you being insistent that she was under someone else’s control.”

“The reason I suspected a fourth was the way how she referenced to PKS… the initials for Page K. Sarre in the third person. I’ve observed interviews with people under cultist influences but I could be wrong and she was disassociating from what she was doing or maybe she is crazy and putting on a good show for the insanity defense.”

“But… she was calm and almost seemed to enjoy making you work for it. I mean I buy it that she could have pulled it off. She’s a criminal justice student at WLVU and has an interest in literature, specifically crime novels and she put together scenes using multiple elements and focusing on _DC Homicide_ for structure… cult obsession?”

“Seemed like it but without anything… it’s all speculation.” Sage looked down a moment and then at Nick. “Thanks for the ride. See ya next shift.” She got out of the car and took out Riley and started up the driveway.

“No problem,” Nick replied. He waited until she was inside and drove away.

Sage let Riley off his lead and went about putting her things away. Sitting down on the couch she motioned for Riley to jump up and he did, eager for a cuddle. She held the dog on her lap as she thought about the case. She had promised Catherine she wasn’t going to pursue it and she wasn’t but she couldn’t help but think about it. Her thoughts were about what had been written on the cover of the last book. Sitting back, she thought about the case absently petting Riley until she fell asleep with her fingers curled through the dog’s fur.

****

The room was cozy with a small table and an easy armchair in the center of the rug. The light from the Tiffany lamp shone down at the perfect angle for reading. The TV was on and the news was going on about the recent murders called the Homicide Society murders and how a suspect has been arrested.

The occupant of the chair was sitting in the chair, listening rather than watching the news. One hand was poised at the chin and rubbing it with fascination. The head was bent low looking at the book on the lap. The right index finger was running along the words printed on the page.

_Las Vegas police have arrested the suspect in the Homicide Society murders. Dani Evans, 26, and student at WLVU has been arrested for six murders total. The sheriff isn’t releasing anything else except that there is strong evidence that she is responsible for all six…_

The occupant turned the volume to mute and looked at the screen. The news anchor went on talking with no sound coming on. The picture of Dani Evans was still on the screen. It was her WLVU school ID picture. There was also the ticker tape about the case at the bottom. It was big news; anything to stir up the vultures who fed on this. This was Vegas after all and it was all about entertainment.

The occupant turned back to the book they were reading and finished the chapter that they were on. The index finger ran along the lines of print. The lips moved silently as they read the words of story. The finger came to a rest at the end of the chapter…

_Detective Riley slapped the cuff on Waters’ wrists his face twisted in disgust for a former friend. He said, “Then I guess you really don’t know me do you Leroy. Cause I wouldn’t ever sell my integrity.”_

_Parsons waited until Waters was apprehended and studied the suspect. She held onto the bag of evidence of the heist. The stolen jewelry clear as day in the evidence bag. There were also prints from the heist as well as some blood. She hadn’t checked him yet and the others were clean._

_“I didn’t do it,” Waters protested._

_“Lift his sleeves,” Parsons said._

_Riley lifted them both with the assistance of a uniform. Parsons pulled out a swab and held it up. She moved in and inspected the forearms. The slice was on the right forearm. A nice, clean cut that looked deep. Parsons said, “Looks a little deep. Afraid of going to a hospital?”_

_Waters said nothing. The only thing that happened was that he winced slightly when Parsons swabbed the injury. He grunted, “I cut it working in the shed.”_

_“Well there were traces of the dye from the money stolen along with the jewelry. You didn’t and the others didn’t know that the store had dye packs for their money did ya? What’s the betting that the traces we collected off your clothes are going to match?” Parsons moved to look Waters in the eye. “We got you all.”_

_Riley handed off Waters to the uniform, “Book him Marcus.”_

_Waters let himself be led away. He shot death glares at both Riley and Parsons. He managed to spit out, “She corrupted you Riley. You would never have passed up an opportunity to stick it to the rich folks.”_

_Riley narrowed his eyes as Waters was led away. Parsons held the swab for a moment and then put it in the box and tagged it. She watched the suspect being led away and pursed her lips. With a slight click of her lips, she said, “I’ll get this to the lab… I’m sorry Riley.”_

_“I’m more sorry for Janeen. I’m the one that’s gonna have to tell her about this,” Riley replied a bit terse. He started walking towards his car._

_Parsons studied her partner. They had been together for nearly three to four years and she learned how to read his moods. She said, “Riley, you’re a good cop.”_

_Riley stopped and came back towards Parsons. He looked at her and said, “Waters was right. Had I not joined the force, I would have been like him. I would have been in the cuffs or dead.”_

_“But you’re here now and that’s important. It’s who you are and what you have done since you made the choice to be a cop that makes all the difference.” She smiled, “You’re a good man Riley and a good friend.”_

_“But is it enough?”_

_Riley turned to head back. Parsons stood there watching her partner walk towards his car. She blinked slowly and sighed. There were some things that took time to get through and there were some things you never got over… or escaped…_

The occupant of the chair paused a moment and slowly closed the book. They got out of their chair and walked over to the bookcase at the far end of the room. Slowly they ran their fingers over the bindings of the books taking in the titles and a slow smile formed. Finally the finger stopped where there was a hole in the stack. Gently the book was placed back in its place. The owner paused to rub the binding after putting it away.

The occupant finished admiring the books and turned towards a table nearby. The table was covered with posters and ads. They were book release cards and the posters were advertisements for books. There was also newspaper clippings organized in scrapbook fashion. Most of the clippings were reviews of books and some were clippings from newspapers about crimes.

The occupant studied them for a moment. One caught their eye and they picked it up. It was an author biography. There was no picture to accompany it but it told the usual tidbits of the author. The occupant studied the biography. They were the bare details of the author but it could be seen that there was genius there. The occupant stared at where the picture would have gone. All that was there was the greyed out photo with a shadow of a human head.

“There were some things that took time to get through and there were some things you never got over… or escaped.”

The occupant picked up a picture. It had been a recent one that had been taken. There were other photographs that had been taken. They showed a crime scene and police about. The main center was two crime scene investigators, one male and one female. The one that was held focused on the female. She was wearing a leather jacket, dark clothing; pretty much a stereotype of TV cops. The gloves were distinctive as they held a camera and the CSI looked away and at the scene.

“There were some things you never got over… or escaped.”

The occupant looked at the photograph. This one had gotten close. They rubbed the photo with a slight loving touch and studied the woman. The other was interesting but the woman… that was something else. This one was always thinking and had come close to figuring out the whole thing. It was a battle of the minds.

The occupant would have continued to have stroked the photo when the doorbell rang. The occupant sighed before putting the photo down back in its place of honor next to the biography. They answered the door to find the mailman with a special delivery package. So it was here. The occupant gladly signed for it and thanked the mailman before taking it back into the living room, ripping the box open.

Sitting in the chair, the occupant held the letter and the book in hand. The letter was the usual stuff about being selected for peer review and blah, blah. The occupant was more interested in the book but they would be sure to send in the review. The occupant looked at the TV. The spiel about the murders was over and something else was on but it was going to be ignored. Looking back down, the occupant gave a breath of excitement as their hands ran over the cover. It was a publisher’s copy sent out for review.

Looking down at the cover, the occupant gave a slight chuckle and took in the cover and the artwork. This was going to be a new case as they read the title. The fingers ran over the embossing on the paper jacket.

 _DC Homicide: Scarlet Betrayal_ …


End file.
